Shokugeki no Megami Tensei
by Terminus Zwei
Summary: Yu Narukami has saved the wold from being consumed by the fog of truth, but a short time later a new threat has emerged. One that he and his Persona can only defeat be developing his skills and make new friends as a chef at Tōtsuki Culinary Academy.
1. Chapter 1

**Shokugeki no Megami Tensei**

 **Chapter 1**

 **The Midnight Chef**

* * *

 _The slither of snails and the patter of rain falling from the night's sky over Tokyo, Japan can be heard through an innocent suburban household's bedroom window. Through that window a silver haired teen wearing simple Pjs and no more than 17 years old can be seen intensely focusing on a small TV._

"I don't know why I'm doing this... that case has long since been wrapped up." the teen sighed as he constantly referenced the digital clock on his phone.

 _After another moment passes the young teen looks at his phone's clock once more as heavily imagines the tick tock of yesteryear's time pieces playing in his head. 11:59PM... tick tock... 12:00AM... tick tock 12:01AM._

"Well that was a waste of time... hope I haven't missed the slurry popping." the teen thought as he quickly stuffed his phone in his pocket.

 _By the time the teen got to his bedroom door his phone started to vibrate making his earlier action unnecessary._

"Who is it?" the boy asks as he spoke into his phone due to not looking at caller ID when he picked up the call.

"Oh come on partner... you don't recognize my voice?" said the person on the other side of this call as if he had just been sarcastically stabbed in the heart.

 _Of course the silver haired teen recognized that voice. It had belonged to his best friend Yosuke Hanamura, and he was his first friend when he moved to the country-side town of Inaba for his second year in High School. Yosuke had also been instrumental in helping their group of friends solve a series of murders and disappearance that went on in the simple town._

"What is it Yosuke? I'm busy trying to stuff pork in chicken wings." the silver haired teen said in a stoic tone that bordered on emotionless.

"Umm... okay." Yosuke mumbled in confusion due to being unsure whether or not his friend meant what he said metaphorically or literally, "Anyways man... have you heard from Teddie recently?"

"No... why?" the teen asks as his stoic voice takes on a more concerned shape.

"I got stuck with working the midnight shift at Junes tonight while Teddie (lucky bastard) was able to take off early. My mom just called me and asked if he was working late tonight as he never came home. Tonight's gyoza night and he's never been late for that." Yosuke explained.

"Have you told the others?" the teen asks.

"Kanji and Chie are already out looking for him, Yukiko's not answering her phone, and I've had no luck getting in touch with Naoto or Rise cause of their jobs. You were my... I'll be there in just a second ma'am... anyways you were my last hope." Yosuke explained.

 _At first the silver haired teen wasn't sure, but now he believes his friend didn't make it sound like anything was wrong in order to not make the customers around Yosuke worry. He knows they've been busy preparing for another major Junes event._

"If I hear from Teddie... or if on the off chance he shows up here I'll let you know, but I have to go man. I'm in the middle of making a really late dinner and I wouldn't want anything to start burning." the teen said witch much reluctance.

"That's right... you mentioned how you've been busy unpacking both your stuff and your parents in that house in Tokyo." Yosuke mumbled as his voice takes a more recalling tone, "Look... before you hang up... Yukiko's been worried about you. She said you haven't responded to any of the texts she's sent you in the past few days."

"Like you said... I've been busy with the move and I actually responded to those texts about an hour or two ago, but like you I haven't gotten a response." the teen retorts.

"Ah... okay... all is good there then. Take care of yourself partner, and if any of us here about Teddie first we'll let you know." Yosuke said just before the line went silent.

 _With no further interruptions the young teen is able to exit his bedroom, walk down a short flight of stairs, and arrive in his kitchen where a small covered saute pan lays over a burner set to medium heat and right next to it a soup pot with chicken bones and a smell that permeates the kitchen._

"Now... if I'm remembering the recipe correctly... I was supposed to take some of the liquid from the chicken bone soup and mix it with some corn starch." the teen thought as he started to rummage through a near by pantry, "No wait... it was potato starch."

 _The young teen after finding what he was looking for mixed some of the potato starch with the soup forming a light sauce, then he removes the cover to the saute pan revealing 8 chicken wings with tooth picks sticking through them, covers the wings in that sauce and let's it simmer for a minute._

"Now then... let's see how my recreation of this dish from just mentioned ingredients and my own changes will taste." the teen thought as he moved his concoction to a plate and then to the nearby kitchen table.

 _Just as the teen picks up his chop sticks and is about to say grace or more accurately "Itadakimasu", his meal is interrupted by someone ringing his doorbell and at such a late hour no less._

"I swear... if Teddie ran away to see me I'm going to make him sleep outside... that wouldn't be animal cruelty right?" the teen thought as he walked to his front door.

 _Confident that after a year of battling in another world where dangerous creatures are born from man's suppressed thoughts, the teen quickly opens the door without even bothering to check who may be waiting on the other side._

"First of all I apologize for bothering you at this late hour. My secretary and personal driver were taking me back home from the airport, but our car broke down outside your home and they're unable to get a cell reception. I approached your residence since the light was on, but I was wondering if I could use your land line to request a replacement vehicle to be sent." an imposing and much older gentleman asked.

 _By imposing I mean that this older man looks to have almost double the muscle mass compared to the silver haired teen. He wears an olive colored yukata, with a long scar over his right eye, and a large umbrella in one of his free hands. As for his two compatriots, the young teen can see them working on the engine of what appears to be a black town car but are unable to do much due to the rain getting in the way._

"Come in... your employees as well otherwise you'll all risk catching a cold." the teen said as after his experiences in Inaba, he knows better than to judge someone by their appearance.

 _That and the sight of a very muscular old man is still nothing compared to the shock of the one time he went to the beach with his friends where Kanji was covering his most important parts with a seashell._

"You two, get over here!" the older gentleman yelled in order to get the attention of his two employees, "This kind young man has offered us shelter from the rain and a means to contact headquarters."

"Headquarters?" the teen thought as he stepped aside to let the older man and his two employees inside, of which the former of the two thanked him greatly for.

 _Being the kind host that he was, the silver haired teen quickly made some tea for his three guests... though only two out of the three was sitting at his kitchen table._

"My apologies if the tea isn't very good. I'm low on tea leaves so I didn't have very much to work with." the teen said as he places three cups on the table.

"You showed us the kindness of taking us into your home at our time of need... it be an insult to you if we complained, but thanks again none the less." the old man said as he took the cup into his hands the moment it was placed in front of him.

"Hmmm... where's your third man?" the teen asks as he only now realizes that someone was missing.

"Ah... he's using the phone in the living room." the old man quickly explained.

"Director, I was able to contact headquarters but because of the rain it will be at least an hour until the new town car gets here." the third man said as he happen to choose the perfect moment to walk back into the room.

"I see" the old man mumbles to himself before turning to face the silver haired teen, "Then I hope its alright that we impose upon your generosity for a little longer?"

"No its fine. I've been up late unpacking boxes for my parents after moving here so I've been up late the past few days anyway." the teen retorts.

"Speaking of which... are they here?" the old man asks.

"No... a long term business trip." the teen answers as he turns his head towards the meal he had prepared earlier, "I made some wingtip gyoza as a late night dinner, but given how cold it is outside you all should have a warm meal to go with your warm drink."

 _After saying so the silver haired teen pushes the 8 wingtip gyoza he had prepared earlier towards the center of the table between the old man and his two employees._

"Make no mistake kid, I appreciate the generosity you've shown us thus far." the second man said in an urgent tone, "But director... you're far above trying the food of some random person off the street."

"Perhaps... but this young man isn't some random person and again it would be rude for any of us to refuse after the kindness he's shown us." the old man points out as he takes one of the chicken wings into his hand, "Hmmm... I detect the faint odor of bleu cheese."

 _The old man doesn't just use his hand, but rather a pair of chopsticks the silver haired teen happen to have already had out... after removing the toothpick of course._

"Well then...itadakimasu." the old man whispered under his breath just before wrapping his mouth around the wingtip gyoza.

 _Then without warning this same old man's eyes went wide with shock, his lips shriveled around the wing as if he had just consumed something sour, however the teen didn't actually put anything sour tasting in his dish._

"Director!" the third man yelled as he pounded his fists on the kitchen table, "You damn brat... just what did you feed the director?!"

"Though it's a variation... yelling like that is an insult to the person who came up with this recipe." the boy said with emotionless eyes as if he were a trained killer, "Oh... I guess there's the fact it would also wake up the neighbors too."

 _The second man was trying to calm down his colleague while the silver haired teen just stood completely straight-faced, but all were drawn to the sound of the old man swallowing the gyoza... skin, the meat inside, and the seasoning in all._

"Hrmmm." the old man grunted as he put down his borrowed pair of chopsticks.

"Are you okay director?" the third man asked.

 _For a moment there is only silence and the lingering odor of chicken living in this kitchen._

"Ha ha ha ha... this wonderful young man... truly a delectable meal worthy of the gourmet world." the old man said as he just suddenly burst out into hearty laughter.

"There you see..." the teen said as he turned his head back towards the one who had objected to his cooking earlier, "There's no problem with the taste of what I made."

 _After a year of looking after his friends and towards the enemies in front of him in that other world, the teen quickly realizes that the current focus of his gaze didn't hear him... in fact the look on his face was as if he didn't register the teen's existence at all. Every ounce of attention this third man seemed to posses was focused on the old man standing next to the teen._

"Impossible... from some random person the director... he did his famous 'strip'!" the second man said aloud.

"Strip?" the teen thought as this unusual choice of words was actually enough to get him to twitch his eyes a little.

 _The teen had turned his head back towards the old man only to find that for some reason he's removed the upper half of his yukata whilst flexing his enormous muscles. The sight is shocking to be sure, but again it is still nothing compared to seeing Kanji wearing only a seashell._

"How can you be so straight faced boy? You just had the honor of witnessing the director perform his 'strip'... you should be far more delighted." the third man pointed out.

"That's not true... I'm very surprised by the sight of a half-naked old man." the teen retorts.

 _Though as Youske would call it... the teen's "Legendary Calmness" made it seem otherwise._

"This is your own unique attempt at hanetsuki wingtip gyoza. You used bleu cheese instead of flour and for the filling you added brown sugar to the pork filling in order to get rid of the smell of the cheese. The natural creaminess of the cheese with the sweetness of the sugar perfectly complemented the natural flavor of the chicken it was wrapped it. Yet... the true secret of this flavor is the ankake... I taste sake, vinegar, sesame oil, more brown sugar to help connect to the pork filling, and... pineapple juice." the old man said as he examined each part of the dish like a meticulous scientist.

"The acidity of the pineapple helps to preserve the filling's natural flavor as well as strengthening the chicken's aftertaste with a sweet tangy flavor like orange chicken for example." the silver haired explained.

"Ha ha..." the old man continued to laugh as he properly put his yukata back on, "I just have two questions for you young man. The natural taste of the chicken... its quality is too high to be simple farm raised and yet I don't recognize what brand of chicken it is. Where did you get it?"

"My girlfriend's family runs an inn out in the country town of Inaba and has connection with all the local farmers, so sometimes she gives me their excess ingredients instead of just throwing them away. I guess that still hasn't changed since I moved."

"Inaba? The same town where all those murder and disappearance cases took place last year?" the old man asks.

"The very same... because of my parents having to constantly move around due to their job I stayed there with my uncle during my second year of high school. I guess... I got to know some of the locals more than others." the silver haired by explained.

 _The teen truly believed he was blushing due to embarrassment at this moment, but he continued to be straight-faced as always._

"I see... when I get the chance I'll have to get in contact with the local farmers." the old man thought, "You mentioned this was the recipe of someone else. Just who did you get it from?"

"Not any real person. I got the idea to recreate this dish with own variations after reading the latest chapter of one of the popular cooking manga going around. You see the main character attended some super elitist cooking school where one of its best students was trying to close down the dorm where he and his friends stayed. The MC challenged this guy to a cooking match even though he knew from watching one of his opponent's previous battles that it would be fixed." the teen explained.

"What happened?" the old man asked now curious about the events of this particular manga.

"Between the appeal of his wingtip gyoza's smell and taunting his opponent's pride... he convinced the judges to try his dish and achieved a perfect victory." the silver haired boy explained, "I don't know if he used brown sugar, but the MC used Parmesan cheese and ketchup in his recipe. At any rate he's the one your gratitude should be directed towards... not me. His name was... that's odd... I can't seem to remember it."

"Ha ha ha." the old man as he started to bust out laughing again, "I apologize for that... it's just that this character sounds exactly like someone I just admitted into my school."

"School? Just who is this guy?" the teen thought.

"Just one more question... where are you planning to go to for your last year of high school?" the old man asked.

"Just a simple place about a mile south from here. After I graduate I plan to attend a culinary college near if not in Inaba and get a job as a chef at my girlfriend's Inn. If all goes well I even want to ask her to ma... no I'm getting ahead of myself there." the teen explained.

"Your love deserves for you to be the best that you can be after all, but tell me... have you considered applying to Tōtsuki Academy?" the old man asks as a mischievous grin appears on his face.

"What is the director thinking? In the entire history of the school... there's never been a single person to pass the third year transfer exam. This kid would already have to posses skills equal to a member of the Elite 10 to have a chance. Still... I'll admit... it's impressive that the kid could make something of this quality from just referencing named ingredients in what is no more than a picture book." the third man thought.

"You mean the world famous cooking school owned by a conglomerate of the same name? I have, but I don't meet the minimal requirements to even be considered to take their transfer exam." the teen explained with what he believed to be a slightly sullen tone but was still straight-faced as usual.

"Ha ha ha... well in my opinion young man you're more than worthy to enter Tōtsuki as a third year student even though you've never had any formal culinary training." the old man points out as he busts out into laughter for a third time, "I know it's late, but allow me to formally introduce myself."

"Ah... my na-" the teen said as his intent was to beat this old man to the punch.

"Now now you've shown us enough kindness instead. If nothing else at least allow me to offer you this courtesy first." the old man points out as he offers his hand to the teen, "My name is Senzaemon Nakiri the director of Tōtsuki Academy and the conglomerate of the same name. Might I have the honor of knowing our host's name?"

"I'm Yu Narukami... starting later this spring I'll be a third year high school student." Yu said as he accepts Senzaemon's offer for a handshake.

"Yu Narukami... with my authority as director of Tōtsuki Culinary Academy and to repay the kindness you've shown us I'll ensure you have a chance at our third year transfer exam. So how about it? Would you like the chance to go to one of the world's top culinary institutions?" Senzaemon said with a big smile as if he already knew what Yu was going to say.

 _Yes... just what will his answer to this offer be? There's really only one way to find that out, but for now it's..._

 **To Be Continued**

* * *

Yu: So this is what the world's greatest cooking school looks like...

Teddie: Sensei, save me!

Yu: Next time on Shokugeki no Megami Tensei "The Midnight Oven"

?: Say have you heard the latest rumor? If you stare at a windowed oven at midnight with all the lights off... the greatest secrets of gourmet cooking shall be revealed to you.


	2. The Midnight Oven

**Shokugeki no Megami Tenei**

 **Chpater 2**

 **The Midnight Oven**

* * *

 _The silver haired teen... Yu Narukami has spent the last two weeks since his fateful encounter with Tōtsuki Academy director Senzaemon Nakiri, and in that Yu has reviewed as many books on the Academy's recommended reading list that he could. That's right... he's decided to accept the director's offer for a chance at admittance. Right now he's fast alseep in his bed, but once he's aroused from the unconscious realm he'll have to face the trial of the Academy's exam proctors._

"Fog..." Yu mumbles.

 _Not unlike his first dream in Inaba, Yu finds himself standing in an unknown space filled with near snow white fog, the same sword he had in that dream is in his hand, and this time he was wearing the uniform of his old school... Yasogami high._

"Another reminder of that case in the form of a dream... why?" Yu mumbled as he got on his knees in order to examine the floor around him.

 _Yu does this for his own safety you see... unlike the dream of a year ago he can't see the ground in front of him very well. Because of this he wouldn't want to accidentally fall to his death in his own dream, however there's one thing he finds almost instantly._

"Tile... kitchen tile at that." Yu thought.

 _It wasn't just any kitchen tile... it was the kitchen tile that decorated the floor of his very own home._

"Do you like it? I personally find the contrast of what's new and what's familiar to you to be just perfect." said a mysteriously masculine voice.

 _Whoever... or whatever this voice belonged to wasn't actually speaking that lout, however the voice still reverberated through this space like speakers set to max. As for the way the voice sounded itself... it was deep yet filled with confidence like a chess-master style anime villain. Inzanami may have just put words in his head, but Yu's smart enough to not assume he's even talking to a guy masculinity aside._

"Where are you?!" Yu yelled as he looked aroundthis space whilst maintaining a defensive.

"How rude... and after all the effort I went through to make things comfortable." the voice said once again easily reverberating throughout this space.

 _Without warning there was silence in this space... silence so absolute that Yu couldn't hear the sound of lungs pumping air or his beating heart. This absolute silence continued for a few more seconds until this mysterious voice decided to make its presence known once more._

"Besides... you already know who I am... even if you haven't realized it yet." the voice said in a whisper.

 _Yu instantly realized that this wasn't a whisper that was reverberating through this space... this was a whisper being spoken directly into his ear from behind._

"What do you want?" Yu asks as he jumps away while turning his eyes towards the source of this voice.

 _The wielder of the Fool Arcana saw no overtly complicated figure for me to describe... part of the white fog transformed into a collection of semi-dark gray fog in the rough shape of a person._

"What you see before you isn't my real body of course, but... she came before you a second time in a manner similar to this did she not? Still... I thought it only fair that I give you something to focus on while we chat." the voice said as the rough silhouette he created examined the back of its hands like he could actually see it.

 _Yu initially thought that these reminders of his second encounter with the goddess Izanami were simply a way to get his attention, but no... the voice just confirmed that it's blatantly trying to remind Yu of her._

"You're rather blunt for a god. The others were a lot more enigmatic and mysterious." Yu points out as he directs his katana towards the silhouette.

"Ha... what makes you so sure I'm a god?" the voice chuckled as he or it seemed to take a small amount of amusement from Yu's assumption.

"You mean you're not?" Yu retorts.

"No I am indeed a god... and contrary to the lore about me I prefer to be straight to the point unlike my colleagues. That being said I believe I'm being mysterious enough by reminding you about her fog of truth. I'm also smart enough to keep my mouth shut about my identity until either you take the cat out of the bag or I decide to let it out." the voice said as he seemed to take pride in what game he was trying to play.

"You didn't answer my question." Yu declared as he doesn't want to play this unnamed god's games.

"I was getting to it, and before you ask we haven't met before at a gas station or convenience store... this is indeed our first and true meeting. As for your actual question... she brought you to a similar space to test your initial potential after you received that power from her." the voice said quickly, "I brought you here... because I want to see where you stand now."

"So you want to fight me?" Yu asks.

"Points for stating the obvious... but yes, and you had better come at me or..." the voice was saying.

 _The tension Yu felt was already building up upon the start of his conversation with this entity, but all of a sudden the white fog turned a blood red color when a new sensation started to fill this space. Yu recognized this sensation as all the Shadows as well as the goddess Izanami had it in spaces when he and his friends fought them in the TV World._

"Killing intent." Yu thought as he realized that the fear he felt while fighting Izanami for the sake of the world.

 _Izanami simply did what she believed was best for humanity however misguided it was, but this... this killing intent stems from pure hatred._

"You'll see what the full wrath of a god can do to a human in his weakest state." the voice said as his tone took a far more malevolent and anger filled form.

"Go... Izanagi!" Yu yelled as his self-preservation instinct overrode all of his other conscious thoughts.

 _Blue flames, a mysterious updraft, and a tarot card floating in the air... a sight Yu hasn't gotten to see in a long time, but at the same time he knows it's one he has to draw upon with every fiber of his being in order to survive the next few minutes._

"Cut him down!" Yu yelled as he intended to order this physical manifestation of his subconscious to attack with everything he's got.

 _To think that Yu would once again see his all black clothes wearing persona and its spear-like combat knife in battle after believing he'd finally achieved the start of a peaceful world._

"This one's quite fast... then again that's to be expected of an incarnation of lightning." the voice thought to himself.

 _Izanagi flew across the foggy sky, foggy room, or whatever kind of space Yu was in... but the point being is that he was flying fast none the less._

"No... this doesn't feel right." Yu thought as his gut starts to churn out a bad feeling.

 _Yu had that thought because he realized it was too easy for his Persona to land a blow on this mysterious entity, and he realized it was too easy because the senses he honed after a year of battle told him that his opponent didn't truly register his existence at all despite the killing intent being directed towards him. Perhaps his thoughts will be unfounded as Izanagi swung his blade upon his master's target with everything he had._

"Too easy." the voice mumbled.

"Impossible!" Yu yelled as for the first time in a while his legendary calmness was shaken to the core.

 _And it was shaken to its core because this entity raised its fog covered arm to block Izanagi, but that wasn't the worst of it. Any shock inflicted upon the body of a Persona... its master feels that same shock on the same area of his or her own body. Thus... believe me when I say the shock was intensive._

"Arghhhhh!" Yu screamed in pain as his arms felt like they just shattered as easily as a rock through a glass window.

 _The shock caused the hero who defeated the evil goddess to fall to his knees, but even now he still had the resolve to stand back up after witnessing what he thought was the death of his friends... and stand up again he does against this presence._

"This representation of your suppressed self is indeed very powerful... it's no wonder you and your friends were able to eradicate her existence to near completion." the voice said sounding slightly surprised.

 _All of a sudden the red fog that filled this space turned white once more, and to match all the killing intent Yu felt being directed towards him disappeared as well._

"I was only able to do it because I was able to borrow a little power from everyone I forged a bond with in Inaba." Yu retorts.

"Indeed that is the case, but just as water would burst out of rusted pipes... your subconscious self would have been instantly destroyed after borrowing the strength of your allies... were it lacking in strength. Make no mistake... I understand the importance of seeking assistance from those you trust." the voice said as this time he actually seemed proud of you.

"You're not going to attack me?" Yu asks.

"No... this test of mine is more than sufficient for me to tell where our next step will be. I was actually going to let that attack hit, but it was just powerful enough to make me block on reflex, of which a human such as you should be proud for making a god do. Oh and... don't worry your arms aren't really broken. This is a dream after all, but you already knew that." the voice said this time as if he and Yu have been allies for years.

"Then what now?" Yu asks as he attempts to raise his sword up despite the pain in his arms.

"Let's see... how did she say it." the voice mumbled aloud as he seemed to become lost in thought, "Ah yes... will we meet again? At a place other than here? I look forward to it... and as soon as you realize where that place will be... come alone."

"Wha... it feels like all my energy is being sucked out of my body." Yu thought.

 _Yu remembered this sensation when he first dreamed of Izanami in a similar fog. Thanks to his body being enhanced once again by that year of battle... he was able to resist the draining sensation for a time. Soon enough however... his body fell to the ground and his mind went completely black._

* * *

"Arghhh!" Yu screamed once more.

 _Though it felt like reality to near perfection, Yu was relieved by the sight of his semi-unpacked bedroom as that only served to confirm that he was indeed dreaming. Still... the dream itself was enough to force him into deep contemplation. Was this dream a sign of trouble's to come? Or since he had been thinking about the case his friends solved recently... was it truly no more than his mind playing tricks on him. His heart was leading towards the former, but his mind couldn't deny the possiblity of the latter._

"Ring ring... ring ring." went the cellphone of Yu Narukami.

 _This time the hero who saved Earth and the world in the TV checked his caller ID, and because he knew the nature of the person on the other end of this call... for the sake of his eardrums Yu moved placed his cell on his desk before accepting the call._

"SENPAI... HOW ARE YOU!" screamed the loud bubbly female on the other end of Yu's phone.

 _Yu also breathed a sigh of relieve that he wouldn't have to worry about hearing loss, but it was obvious none the less that it belonged to the teen idol Rise Kujikawa. Yu remembers that among his friends that saved Rise from "bearing it all to the world" he was the one she was most drawn to him. It was to the point where she'd (sometimes literally) cling to him whenever the opportunity came up._

"Oh I wish I could give you own very special good luck charm in person for when you take the transfer exam for that fancy cooking school, but I guess my voice will have to be enough." Rise said in her idol-self tone of voice... not that she would actually approve of that choice of words.

"I'm fine too Rise." Yu retorts as he starts getting a change of clothes ready.

"That's good. Did you sleep well senpai?" Rise asks as she felt it was appropriate to tone down the metaphorical volume of her idol-self.

"It's been... interesting. Right now I'm just getting dressed for the exam." Yu answers as he just wasn't sure whether or not he should worry any of his friend's with his recent encounter.

"Gasp... does that mean senpai has his chiseled muscular body exposed to the cold air... oh senpai don't tease me like that... you'd know I'd love to see it." Rise said as she purposely faked a jealous tone of voice.

 _If Rise were to speak like that to any other teenage boy... blood would be rushing to their other head and record-breaking speed, but Yu was so use to her antics that it pushed the teen idol to constantly step up the quality of them._

"Maybe you'll get your chance next time the gang can all hang out together." Yu said as he decides to humor Rise's antics for once.

"I'll hold you to that senpai... and regardless of whether or not things work out at that fancy cooking school... I'll still hire you to be my personal chef if that boring little inn heiress gets tired of you." Rise said this time in a purely playful tone.

 _Yu knows Rise doesn't mean that as she considers Yukiko to be one of her cherished friends. In fact he still remembers all of their reactions to the announcement of his relationship with the heiress of the Amagi Inn._

"Now getting down to more serious matters..." Rise said as her voice takes a more darkr tone.

 _Youske was fuming with jealousy, Chie threatened to beat him senseless if he made Yukiko cry, Kanji continued to admire Yu's manliness, Naoto as well as Marie hid their faces with their hats and refused to look at him in the face for a while, but perhaps most impressively of was what Rise did... The teen idol swore that if she saw any sign of weakness that she's "snatch senpai for hersef."_

"I've talked to the more discreet members of my fan-club for a status update on our search for that stupid bear." Rise said this time with a concerned voice, "The response they gave me was really weird senapi."

"What did they say? Yu curiously asks.

"They have no memory of me showing them the group picture of Teddie... heck for some reason they acted like I never put in the request at all." Rise said as if she was horribly insulted.

 _Almost instantly that caused red flags to go up in Yu's mind. He knows that all the members of Rise's fan club are loyalists... there's no way they wouldn't remember a request made by her._

"Just before I called you I talked to Youske and he told me his mom has no memory of Teddie and that his dad never hired anyone to be the mascot of Junes. It's freaky senpai... it's almost like that bear has been erased from everyone's minds. Now we just seem to have no clues to go on." Rise said as she's simply at a loss for words.

"Actually... I might have something to go on." Yu interjects as he resolves to tell his friend about his dream.

 _He tells Rise every single detail about his dream. How it was similar to the one with Izanami, the blunt nature of the entity within, how Yu suspects that the entity could have easily killed him if it really wanted to, and most importantly the promise of a future encounter._

"I'll tell the others as soon as we're done her, but ohhh...even if it was only a dream... how dare this god try to harm my precious senpai. If this guy really is as tough as you say... there's no way you should go alone once you figure out where to go." Rise said as she's just now fuming with rage.

"We all made a promise never to go into the TV world alone, and I see this situation as an extension of that promise." Yu said for the sake of the teen idol.

"Good... and maybe we'll be able to get this guy to tell us where Teddie is while we're at it." Rise points out.

 _The entity never said he was responsible for causing Teddie's disappearance, of which Yu reminded Rise of that fact though he couldn't get rid of the possibility of that being the case either. That being said the investigation team wouldn't want to deal with the possibility of a third enemy capable of erasing people's memory either._

"One more thing before I let you go senpai... if you do get into that fancy cooking school... for autumn I... no never mind I want it to be a surprise." Rise mumbled as she seemed to have changed her mind about whatever she wanted to say mid sentence, "Bye bye."

 _Yu was indeed worried about Teddie and the mysterious entity that came into his dreams, but right now he had to clean himself up in order to deal with some more immediate concerns._

"A 10%... graduation rate." Yu thought.

 _Almost right after the director of Tōtsuki Academy left his humble abode, Yu started to do some research into the school itself. There he learned that only an average of 10% of the students in their first year of this school will actually make it out in their third. Assuming that he was able to get through the transfer exam he'll have to survive the hellish classes all the third years would go through, of which may be even more difficult for him without the advantage of the lessons one would learn in the first two years of Tōtsuki Academy's high school division._

"Heh... still doesn't compare to dealing with Kanji's shadow and the hot mess that was." Yu mumbled as he was being both metaphorical and literal with that particular utterance.

* * *

 _It was time for Yu to free himself from his sweat entrapped clothes and prepare for the literal trial that awaits him later in the day. Meanwhile... upon the grounds of Tōtsuki Academy, the school's various staff members are busy preparing for the majority of first year and a few second year high school students who seek entrance into this illustrious academy._

"Let's see... the total number of first year transfer applicants are... 163. The total number of second year transfer applicants are 32. For third years... and as expected..." a random female office worker mumbled as she counted names off of a computer screen.

 _Perhaps this office worker was also actually an instructor at this school, but right now she's sitting in a teachers office alone signing documents and again read names off of a computer screen. Soon enough though... her isolation however short it was would come to an end._

"Yo... anyone home?!" a young female voice yelled.

 _Upon hearing that voice the female office worker straightened up her posture and greatly increased the pace of her work. This reaction would be understandable if the person who had spoken to her was an older woman or at the very least someone a hint of authority in their voice, but it clearly belonged to a teenage girl speaking with a bubbly tone to give Rise a run for her money._

"Rindou-dono... I'm sorry for not getting with my work as fast as I should have." the office worker said as she looked upon this Rindou like she was about to be beheaded by her.

 _Rindou herself was a tall young woman with long dark red hair, bangs that cover her left eye, yellow cat-like eyes, and cat fang shaped teeth to match._

"You can drop the honorifics, and don't worry about your work. I dump mine on the others all time so I can go out and play." Rindou pointed out as she was completely uninterested in the fearful expression of the person sitting across from her.

"I... I see... well then... to what do I owe the honor of this visit?" the office worker asks as she breathes a sigh of relief though she refused to let down her guard against this teen-aged girl.

"Arghh... it sucks, but I drew the short straw this year among upper-tier this year. I wanted to sneak into all of the transfer exams to see if any off the hopefuls could make something tasty to eat." Rindou said pouting and stomping her feet like a little girl who didn't get what they want for Christmas.

"Short straw? Ah... you mean the head proctor role for the third year transfer exam." the office worker said as she slowly started to allow herself to relax around Rindou.

"Yup... not that there ever is anyone to take it... I think the last kid to take that exam was back when the director was a student here." Rindou answered as she maintained the face of one who wants to get out of here as soon as possible.

"I was actually just about to check, but I agree with you. Quite frankly I still wonder why we offer third year hopefuls the exam." the office worker retorts as she starts clicking on a series of folders and icons.

 _Rindou was focused more on the back of the person working the computer rather than the computer screen itself, so for that reason she doesn't immediately notice the office worker's reaction when she pulls up the list of third year high school students taking the transfer exam._

"I don't believe it..." the office worker mumbled to herself.

"Don't believe what?" Rindou asks as she doesn't need to see this office worker's face to know that she has a shocked expression written on her face.

 _With her curiosity now piqued, Rindou looked over the office worker's shoulder to see the face of the mysterious transfer student hopeful wearing what appeared to be his old high school's uniform._

"Let's see... Yu Narukami... potentially transferring from Yasogami high school... previous culinary work experience... nada... culinary education... non-existant. How the heck did this guy make it through the selection process? Or when the selection committee saw a third year applying for transfer... did they accept him for the hell of it?" Rindou points out as she becomes more curious about Yu whilst mumbling the summary of his application aloud.

"Hang on... I'll scroll down... they always list the reason hopefuls make it through the selection process on the bottom of the application." the officer worker said as she becomes interested in the potential transfer student as well.

"Approved to take the third year transfer student exam by the recommendation of the director of Tōtsuki Academy Senzaemon Nakiri." Rindou thought as she perfectly hides the surprise generated from what she just read.

"Wait... seriously!" the office worker yelled as she was unable to hide her surprise like Rindou.

 _Earlier Rindou felt annoyed and inconvenienced by this "Lead Proctor" roll that was forced upon her, however now she has completely different thoughts about her current situation. Now her more cat like eyes become more apparent, her two cat fang like teeth begin to stick out of her mouth, and a large grin begins to form on her face._

"Yu Narukami... the courageous thunder god huh? Well... it looks like it may have been a good thing that I got the short straw after all. I'd better not be disappointed when we finally meet." Rindou thought as a smile that revealed her more devious nature begins to shine through.

"Say... before you go Rindou-dono... there's this weird cooking rumor that's been going around." the office worker said as she decides to change the subject for the sake of her own sanity.

"You mean the one if you burn two rolls of parsley in front of a statue of Buhda in a turtle shell?" Rindou asks simply to be respectful, but her mind was still fantasizing about the kind of person Yu Narukami was.

"No no no... not that one. Supposedly if you look at a windowed oven at midnight with all the lights off... the greatest secrets of gourmet cooking will be revealed to you." the office worker explained as for some reason she seemed t take this rumor seriously.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha... and you actually bought that?" Rindou said as her hearty laughter indicated what she thought of this rumor.

"I didn't think much of it either, but one of my cousins who couldn't get into Tōtsuki tried it at the cooking school he goes to now instead. He woke up the next day with the vague memory of challenging something or someone to an equivalent of our academy's shokugeki." the office worker retorts.

"Dream or no... does he remember whether or not if he won?" Rindou asks as she starts to direct part of her curiosity to this rumor.

"He remembers he lost badly, but that's not even the weird part. When he started going to class the next day... everything began to go wrong." the office worker said as her voice takes a more concerned tone.

 _By a concerned tone... I mean the kind of concern you'd show towards a relative or a friend who was unfortunate to get caught in some kind of car accident._

"Food he buys an hour ago is suddenly covered in fungus, new cooking appliances either refuse to start or break down when he tries to use them, and when he's able to cook something without a problem it tastes horrible even though there are witnesses to say he did every step properly." the officer worker said as she at last finished her story.

"It's probably just an unfortunate bout of bad luck. Even members of the Elite 10 have gone through something like that once or twice." Rindou points out as she's still intrigued by the rumor, however she still isn't taking it seriously.

"Yeah that's what I said, but I hope he gets over it soon or he risks expulsion at best or a lawsuit at worst if someone gets injured. It's... it's like the gods decided to take away his ability to cook. I mean... can you imagine if what happened to him started happening to students here?" the office worker suggested.

"Ha... it just be the end of Tōtsuki if something like that happened here on a large scale." Rindou bluntly points out, "But it's still only a bogus rumor. Anyways... since there's actually someone taking the transfer exam... better get two of the others to help me."

* * *

 _Perhaps it really only is a weird rumor don't you think? A smart man wouldn't put much thought into such a thing, but people are stupid and they'd probably take it seriously. Now what of Teddie? What could have happened to that lovable bear? With Yu and his friends being obvious exceptions, who could have erased all memories of Teddie's existence?_

"Wha... where the heck am I?" Teddie mumbles as he slowly awakens from whatever unconscious state he was in.

 _When that lovable bear wakes up (though he wasn't actually wearing the costume), he found himself sitting on the floor tied to a large metal pole. The floor he's sitting on itself is made of some kind of dark colored metal that goes on for a quarter of a mile in all directions before starting to rise like some kind of hill._

"The last thing I remember is walking home from Junes and finding a stove in the middle of the street." Teddie thought.

"You're in my world now... literally out of the fire and into the frying pan so to speak. It's been two weeks since I grabbed you by the way." said the very same voice that spoke to Yu in his dreams.

"Let me go or you're going to make me a very angry bear!" Teddie yelled though in reality he was scared out of his mind.

"Ha... you're in no position to make demands. Oh... and just in case you're curious I made some... alterations to your body while you were out cold." the voice said as he put a strong emphasis on the word 'alteration'.

"What did you do me?!" Teddie yelled.

"It took a little longer than I thought it would, but I implemented some knowledge into your mind. If all goes well it will be knowledge you'll need to survive at your new home once you leave." the voice said.

 _The voice chose this moment to reveal itself to Teddie, but instead of a foggy silhouette shaped like a human... he took the form of an actual human, but for some reason his entire body was completely hidden by shadow even though the light in this space should make that impossible._

"If you're going to let me go then let me go... sensei's probably worried about me, and I still haven't gotten the chance to score with Chie-chan since sensei nabbed Yukiko!" Teddie yelled as he covered up his fears with his impulsive desires.

"Oh don't worry I'll let you go and for you're troubles you'll even get a chance to be a high school student... but it'll only be temporary so you can bring your precious sensei to me." the voice said as it revealed its more darker nature.

"There's no way I'll bring sensei to you... he'll find me and kick your butt!" Teddie yelled.

"Oh I already spoke to him... right now his current power isn't a threat to me, and you don't have a choice in the matter." the voice said as it moved its shadow covered face closer to Teddie's ears in order to whisper something into them, "As a god it's a trivial matter for me to control shadows... or anything partially a shadow... like you."

"Just... what do you want with sensei?" Teddie demanded to know as he refused to give into this entity by drawing upon the memories of his time with Yu.

"To feel the wrath of my vengeance." the voice said as it placed its finger on Teddie's forehead.

 _Suddenly Teddie's head just drops as low as the ropes that tie him would allow... quite frankly it's like the bear was easily knocked unconscious by this entity._

"You won't need that for a while." the entity said as it waves its hand causing the rope that restricted Teddie to drop to the floor, "Now rise my puppet."

 _Teddie rose upon the sound of this entity's voice... his bright clear blue eyes completely glazed over, of which in anime happens to be a classical sign of mind-control. Teddie was a now a slave to his captor's will._

"Go forth my puppet... and return to the human world with these two tasks to accomplish! Make sure Yu Narukami sees you, and more importantly use the knowledge I have given you to pass Tōtsuki Academy's first year transfer exam!" the voice yelled with its arm outstretched towards the horizons.

 _The horizons of wherever it and Teddie are that is._

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

Eizan: This better be good... I missed a meeting with one of my major clients because of it.

Satoshi: Now now don't complain... we were the only two that weren't busy with school matters, so we're obligated to do this.

Rindou: You're task... let's see... oh I know... I'm craving seafood today!

Yu: Next time on Shokugeki no Megami Tensei "The Midnight Oven II"

Igor: Welcome... to the Velvet Room.


	3. The Midnight Oven II

**Shokugeki no Megami Tensei**

 **Chapter 3**

 **The Midnight Oven II**

* * *

 _A mysterious deity seeks vengeance against Yu Narukami for an as of yet unknown reason, and in the process this god took away Teddie's free will turning him into a puppet at his beck and call for mysterious reasons as well. Now Yu himself must face whatever form his third year transfer exam will be._

"Darkness..." Yu thought as four out of his five senses seemed to have suddenly stopped functioning.

 _The only one of Yu senses that still functioned was his sense of touch, and it told him that he was sitting down on some kind of chair._

"Did that god... manage to grab me?" Yu thought.

 _Right at the moment Yu started to divert brain power to his current situation... his other 4 sense were simultaneously restored a little bit at a time. His sense of vision in particular... from his perspective felt like paint being dripped on his eye lids only in reverse._

"This shade of blue... I see... so that's where am." Yu thought as he instantly realized where he is... r rather where he was being summoned to.

 _After a couple more seconds Yu's senses were completely restored, and what he saw was a large scale professional kitchen. There were stoves, counter-top work-spaces, an industrial freezer, pots/pans hanging from the ceiling, but most importantly nearly everything in the room was colored in various shades of velvet blue. In short... this wasn't the limo Yu remembered._

"Welcome... to the Velvet Room. This is a place between drea... ah.. honored guest, I apologize for not recognizing you immediately." said an old man with a long nose.

 _Yu knew this old man as Igor... the master of the Velvet Room... the man who helped him cultivate his ability as a Persona-user, and right now he sits a few feet across from Yu behind a small stove as if it were his desk._

"Were you expecting someone else?" Yu asks.

"Truthfully... my master and I were indeed expecting someone else." someone answers, but it wasn't the master of this space.

 _Yu recognizes this confident and deep feminine voice... it belonged to Margret... a woman who he holds a strong bond with from his time in Inaba, and for some reason she... Igor's assistant was standing a cash register like a common cashier and the Persona Compendium still safely tucked under her arm. Quite frankly it amazes Yu that he didn't even register her presence until now._

"The shape of the Velvet Room is always determined by the mind of its current guest ever since its creation, but you already know this from your first few visits." Margret explained in a stoic tone that could give Yu a run for his money.

"Then what don't I know?" Yu retorts.

"What you don't know is that until a new guest arrives... this room will always stay in the form the guest before gave. For example, before you first entered the Velvet Room... it looked like a large scale elevator." Margret explained.

"In my years as the master of the Velvet Room... I've only seen this phenomenon a few times before." Igor points out as he seems to take great pleasure in this current chain of events.

"What phenomenon?" Yu asks as it becomes increasingly clear that Igor didn't summon him here this time.

"Yu Narukami, do you remember the words I told you when we first met a year ago?" Igor inquired in a very respectful tone.

"You've said a lot to me when we first met. It would be rather hard to choose any few words." Yu retorts as he tries be as respectful in turn.

"Ha ha... very true." Igor lightly chuckles, "Only those who are bound by a contract may enter here, but the contract that first bound you has long since been fulfilled. For an old guest of the Velvet Room to appear here without both the intent to come here in the first place and my summoning of that guest... it can only mean one thing... and nothing happens here without reason. It seems honored guest... that you are fated to soon enter into a new contract... one where our services shall be again necessary to you."

"Where will your new journey take you? I look forward to finding out... until we meet again." Margret declared.

* * *

 _At that moment all of Yu's senses started to fail him all at once, but now that he realized this reaction was due to the Velvet Room he wasn't worried at all. In fact up until the point where his consciousness completely blacks out, Yu chastised himself a little for not realizing their involvement sooner. He himself had gone through such a sensation dozens if not hundreds of times during his visits there over the course of the past year._

"Wha... oh... I fell asleep?" Yu thought as he finds a dash of drool on the sleeve of his old Yasogami High uniform.

 _This uniform and all of its variations had been the armor of Yu and his friends... it has even saved them once or twice from certain death attacks. In this... his first step towards the future he wants to build with Yukiko how could he not wear it today?_

"That's right... I came here really early and came to this room after finding out where the third year transfer exam would be. Guess that nightmare took more out of me than I thought." Yu mumbled seeing as how there was no one else in the room to bother him.

 _The place he's at is none other than the grounds of the illustrious Tōtsuki Culinary Academy, and the room is one of its more spacious kitchens used for practical lessons... or at least that was what was told to Yu by one of the teacher's after he got lost._

"It's... 12:30 PM!" Yu urgently thought, "I've been asleep for four hours... but the exam was supposed to me at 10 AM."

 _Yu immediately looked around to see if there was a teacher, one of the school's staff, or even an actual student of Tōtsuki Academy given cleanup duty as punishment... but no as of this moment he was completely alone in this kitchen._

"Hopefully I didn't sleep through the entire exam." Yu thought.

 _There were only two possibilities that could explain Yu's current predicament. Either he slept through the transfer exam and was justly failed for that reason... or for whatever reason the proctor for the exam was extremely late. Yu hoped for the latter possibility a great deal, but if it was the former..._

"If he was here... Youske would say 'That totally blows' I believe." Yu continued to mumble.

"Ring ring ring ring." once again goes the phone of Yu Narukami.

 _As Yu was about to check his caller ID he originally expected it to be one of his friends, but no... this time he had no idea who the number that appeared on his screen belongs to. A spam call, a wrong number, or perhaps one of his friends borrowing the phone of someone nearby... either way he'd have to answer to find out._

"Who is this?" Yu said in one part a cautious tone in case it was the deity that visited him in his dreams, and another part polite tone in case it was anyone else.

"Big bro... dad got me a cell phone so I wouldn't tie up the land line when I wanted to talk to you. I also wanted to congratulate you for getting into that super hard cooking school." said the voice of a young girl.

 _Of course Yu recognized the voice of his cousin/unofficial little sis Nanako Dojima. She was his uncle's only daughter and at first a shy young lass, but after slowly referring to Yu as her big brother she began to follow him around whenever the chance would present itself. Among all the women he holds dear... Nanako would rank third next to Yukiko and his own mother._

"Your big brother hasn't taken the test yet, but your words make him feel happy." Yu said into his phone as a small grin formed on his face.

"Tee hee... thank you big bro, and sorry if I'm bothering you." Nanako laughed.

"You're not bo-" Yu said.

 _Suddenly Yu's train of thought as well as his conversation with Nanako were interrupted by the sound of three sets of approaching footsteps. It had been nearly silent since Yu woke up from his long nap, so in part he was a little curious right now._

"Sorry Nanako... I think I hear the proctors coming. I'll call you back later I promise." Yu says both urgently and quickly.

"Wait... big bro, where's Teddie?" Nanako asks due to a great deal of concern she has towards the fuzzy animal.

"Damn it..." Yu quietly grunts as his mind fails to register Nanako's last words until after he's already hung up the line.

 _Yu is shocked because this means that his little sister obviously remembers Teddie, and now he wants to know why. Could it be that going to the TV World was enough to grant her immunity from whatever force erased Teddie's existence? Or did Nanako somehow unlock her Persona without Yu or any of his friends noticing? She was stuck there with Namatame in that facsimile of heaven for a while, and Yu couldn't deny the possibility seeing as how the subject Nanako's shadow never came up during the interrogation of him._

"I have to find out." Yu mumbled as he was already looking through his caller history.

"Let's just get this over with. One of my clients is expecting me to get back to them on their proposals." an arrogant low-toned young an said as he presumably opened the door to the classroom Yu was in.

 _Yu reluctantly decides to put away his phone when he hears the door behind him open and three people walk in. These people could be the exam proctors or more hopeful students here to take the transfer exam, and besides... even as Yu risked his life in that other world... he and his friends never failed to put time in for their studies._

"Now now... you and I were the only members not busy with academy business today, and it's not like we can say no to a request from our senpai all the time." another young man said in a much softer tone of voice.

 _Yu turned around to look at his new company... to his left was a young man who with his slick back hair, golden chain necklace, and leopard shirt he wore under what appeared to be a school uniform's formal shirt... in short save for a pompadour haircut he fit the average manga depiction of a high school delinquent._

"Between Nakiri and Kuga helping with the transfer exams and everyone else being busy with paperwork... well that makes us the first two choices for Rindou-senpai." the soft toned young man points out.

"Nakiri? But these two clearly look like students here... a relative of that old man then." Yu thought as he recognized these other two teenage boys as students here by there uniform, but hey haven't seemed to have acknowledged his presence yet either.

 _As for the other teen... he had orange brown hair with bags that went in all direction, but he was wearing an immaculately well-kept school uniform. It shined so well that at any other school you'd think he was a member of the student council._

"Hurry up!" the delinquent looking teen yelled down the hallway.

"Sowy sowy... I just wanted to enjoy my tasty ice cream more." said a young girl as she walked into the classroom.

 _At that moment a young lady with dark red hair walked in as she tossed the end of an ice cream cone into her mouth. It could be none other than Rindou-dono as that lone office worker called her, but of course Yu doesn't realize this as they haven't met yet._

"I really sorry for making you wait. This one agreed to help me right away." Rindou said with her hands clasped together in prayer and head slightly bowed as she nodded in the soft-toned teen's direction, "But this one..." this time nodding in the opposite direction "Took me a long time to convince."

"More like harassment... you wouldn't stop pestering me to go with you even though I was talking to my seafood chain clients over the phone. I only agreed because they started to complain." the delinquent looking teen said in protest.

"But you came in the end and that's what matters." Rindou said in her normal bubbly tone of voice.

"Is this what Rise will be like in a year or two? I shudder at the thought." Yu thought as his gaze was primarily focused on Rindou.

"Now now... if you're going to look at me like that... you should at least take me to dinner first at a place with a lot of tasty food." Rindou said as she notices Yu staring at her and decides to tease him for it for her own amusement.

"Don't... if you care about having money in your bank account... don't do it." the delinquent looking teen said as he seemed to be coming to Yu's defense.

 _Yu thought that these three weren't bad people... definitely a little weird, though he didn't have a right to complain given who he used to hang out with on a daily basis._

"I already have a girlfriend." Yu said to Rindou before making it clear that his attention was now equally focused on the three of them, "Now I don't mean to be rude, but who are you all?"

"It seems a little rude to ask that without introducing yourself first." Rindou retorts as she faked an annoyed expression.

"I'm sorry about that." Yu said as his instincts told him that it would be a bad idea to make an enemy of these three regardless of who they were, "My name is Yu Narukami. By the grace of the director of Tōtsuki... I'm here to take the third year transfer exam."

"Hmm... he has no callouses or scars that come with working in a serious kitchen. Just why wold the director reccomend somone like that?" the soft-toned teen thought as he quickly glanced at Yu's hands.

"Rindou Kobayashi's the name and I'm a third year here at Tōtsuki. The guy to my right is the school's unofficial dorm leader Satoshi Isshiki, and to my left is Etsuya Eizan our resident yankee. They're both second years, but the three of us together will be your proctors for the transfer exam."

 _Yu must have droped his "legendary calmness" and made some kind of involuntary movement as Rindou and the others only looked at him and sighed._

"The third year transfer exam has always been overseen by Tōtsuki's best students. Didn't say as much in the instructional pamphlet that was emailed to you?" Isshiki asks as he seems surprised by what he percieves to be Yu's misplaced confusion.

"No... all it said was to follow the directions given by the lead proctor." Yu answers.

"Hmrph... the administrative office must have sent him the instructional pamphlet normally given to the first and second year transfer exam hopefulls by mistake." Eizan points out as he makes it clear that he already thinks little of Yu.

"You do know that only an average of 10% of chefs graduate from this school right? Hell... being admitted is enough to be a plus on your resume." Rindou asks as she holds herself up on one of the countertops using her elbow.

 _In Rindou's hands Yu sees on a clipboard his transfer application only with an additional area marked "Pass" or "Fail". That alone starts to make the tension in the room a little uncomfortable, but it at least confirms that these three aren't kidding around when they say they hold Yu's future in his hands._

"I do." Yu answered.

"Good... saves me a lot of explaining that I would have made Eizan do." Rindou chuckles.

"Excuse me?" Eizan retorts as he clearly doesn't appreciate that last comment.

"What I'm trying to say is that you could already be good enough to handle the third year coursework, but that isn't enough to pass the transfer exam." Isshiki explained.

"He's right... the three of us saw our friends... people we'd like to start our own buisness with fail to cross the wasteland that is Tōtsuki Academy, and we used the pain from that loss to become even stronger chefs." Rindou points out as her cat fang started to stick out between her lips.

"I highly doubt any of the first years will complain, but the second and third years aren't going to accept a transfer student... a third year at that who didn't have to go throgh the same hardships as them." Eizan follows.

"They won't accept someone who barely passed... no... the only way of making the naysayers shut up is to prove your skills are already equal to members of the Elite 10. The three of us are especially suited to make that call." Rindou concludes.

 _Though most of Yu's attention was focused on reviewing the material a third year at Tōtsuki was expected to know, he at least had the train of thought to review how the school functions as a whole. The Elite 10... a sort of student council consisting of the school's 10 best chefs, and he already knows from offhand comments that they as high school students could rival culinary veterans in terms of skill._

"Why would these three be especially suited?" Yu thought, but then... the pieces click in his mind "Unless these three are..."

"Looks like he's finally figured it out... now I think it's time we formally re-introduce ourselves." Rindou said as she gave off what Yu would learn to be her infamous devious smile.

 _All of a sudden the small amout of tension in this room sky rocketed. It still falls short of what Yu and his friends felt fighting the godess Izanami, but at the same time it was also more than enough to make his battlehoned insticts really pay attention to these three supposed "Proctors"._

"If I was deaf and blindfolded right now... I'd assume someone tossed me into the TV World and that I was about to be attacked by shadows." Yu thought as he felt the tension to the core of his being.

 _At the same time Yu was also marveled by the pressure he felt from these three. He and his friends may have actually risked the possibility of death against their lives while fighting in that other world, but he also knew even if he hasn't realized it yet that there were people in his world who felt incredible passion for their dreams to the point where lives may as well be at risk. He saw such passion when Rise told stories about her rise in the idol industry while she clung to him._

"The 9th seat of the Elite 10: Etsuya Eizan." said the yankee.

"The 7th seat of the Elite 10: Isshki Satoshi." Ishiki introduced.

"I'm the 2nd seat of the Elite 10: Rindou Koybayashi." Rindou said as she maintained her devious smile.

 _Yu was at first confused by the strength of the tension in th room, but now it makes sense. Who better than to see if his abilities as a cook compare to the Elite 10 then members of that illustrious group themseleves? Still his instincts tell him to be most warry of Rindou... the amount of pressure the other memebers of the Elite 10 bring to the room is a paltry sum compared to her._

"Now for your test... since Eizan mentioned he was missing a meeting with one of his seafood oriented clients... we'll go with that as the theme." Rindou mumbled after seemingly contemplating the issue for several moments.

"Huh?" Yu mumbled due to an ever rare state of confusion.

"You'll have one chance to make a seafood themed dish. If you can convinve two of us that your skills are on par with the Elite 10 then you'll pass... and if you do you'll be the first third year transfer student it Tōtsuki's 92 year history." Isshiki said.

"Aren't you going to wait until any of the others taking the transfer exam show up?" Yu asks.

"There's no need to wait." Eizan interjects in an authoritative tone, "You're the only one taking the third year transfer exam. The last third year to take it was when the director was a student here, and as I believe my colleauge's said if you pass... and that is a big 'if'... you'll be the first in Tōtsuki history."

"I see." Yu thought as he quickly realizes just how much he may have overestimated his own ability.

"That's all there is to it... not that I expect some loser with no formal training who only was condidered by the director's good grace to actually pass." Eizan declared.

"You calling me a loser?" Yu asked as he gave Eizan an angry glare.

 _This comment of Eizan's angered Yu for one very important reason. That reason is that because of his parents constantly making him move around Yu was forced to say goodbye to shortlived friendships, and eventually he isolated his heart from the rest of the world causing people to refer to him as a unsociable loser when all he wanted was a friend who could see everything about him and acknowledge him. Of course Yu has his friends to thank for pulling him out of such isolation, but Eizan's words are an insult to those who are stuck in the place he used to be._

"Yes... a completely unknown person has no reason to make me think more than that, but prove me wrong with what you serve on your plate." Eizan retorts.

"So yeah... any questions?" Rindou asked.

"Just two. How am I supposed to cook anything with only seasonings? All I saw in this classroom was a few spices and a various kinds of flower." Yu asks.

"Oh yeah that's right..." Rindou mumbled as if just now remembering something she's completely forgotten, "Bring in the food carts!"

 _Two people walk in pushing carts filled to the brim upon the command of Tōtsuki's second strongest chef. There were various kinds of fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat even though it was a seafood themed test, and of course various kinds of seafood itself. Some were the most expensive version of fish and the like Yu has worked with in the past when cooking for himself at home, but the rest were ingredients only the rich could purchase._

"What's your other question?" Isshiki asks.

"When Eizan mentioned clients and Rindou called him a yankee... does he perhaps smuggle moonshine?" Yu asks purely out of straightfaced honest curiosity and not in the least to get back at Eizan.

"Hah?" Eizan yelped as he was shocked to his core that Yu would ask something like that so blatantly.

"He as being all secretive when he mentioned his clients and he was reffered to as a yankee. I mean I can't think of anything more yankee then smuggling moonshine from America the homeland of yankees." Yu explained as if he had made some grand discovery though it was impossible to tell because of his god-tier stoicness.

"If you're going to accuse me of something illegal then at least do it with some emotion!" Eizan yelled as he was a little disturbed by how calmly Yu could say that.

"Haha ha hahahahaha ha... Narukami... ha ha... that's just too rich." Rindou said she collapsed over one of the countertops due to intensive laughter.

"Yes... that... was a little much." Isshiki interjects though in reality he was barely able to hold back his own desire to laugh.

"I might... have called him a yankee, but really Eizan is more like a smart Yakuza type." Rindou explained as she forces herself to calm down.

"Ah... illicitly brewed sake then." Yu retorts.

"Ha ha ha haha ha.. oh god... oh god... I might actully die of laughter before you get a chance to cook." Rindou said as she laughted so hard that it was just short of the point of hyperventalating

 _Immediately veins started to pop out on Eizan's head, his skins started to stretch out in inhumanely possible directions, and as Yu would soon learn this is one of the faces the 9th seat would make when he was particulary angry or cocky. In this case it would be the former of the two obviously._

"I admit... now more than ever I'm looking forward to what kind of dish you'll be making." Eizan declared as it seemed like the presence of his fellow Elite 10 members was the only thing keepin him form beating Yu sensless.

"Ah... I haven't decided what I'm going to make yet, so you'll have to wait a few minutes." Yu replied as he seems to fail to realize that Eizan wants to beat him sensless.

"Now I hope you get in Yu Narukami... if nothing else it'll be good for the laughs." Rindou thought.

 _After spending at least 20 minutes thinking about the issue, Yu finally had decided on what to make for his test. The core ingredients he decides to pick off the food carts are shirmp, crab meat, and a smal chicken. The supporting actors so to speak are tomatoes, tarragon leaves, three kinds of cheese, capers, and several other ingredients including a few unusual choices._

"Based on most of his choice of ingredients and spices I'd say he's probably going to make an italian themed seafood dish, but I can't figure out what he's going to do with the rest." Rindou whispers to her colleauges as Yu stuffs tomatoes into a large pot.

"Chayote, fish sauce, and ginger... if he adds hose ingredients to the tomato sauce it'll instantly kill the flavor." Isshiki points out.

"If he does then it will show he's not worthy of attending Tōtsuki." Eizan interjects as it's clear he'll look for any chance he can to fail Yu.

"Now now we have to be objective." Isshiki said as he easily picked up on Eizan's intent.

"But then what if he doesn't add those to the sauce? If so just what will he do with them?" Rindou thought.

 _After he turned the burner under the pot full of tomatoes on, Yu moved onto seperating the small chicken he selcted into various pieces. Once that was done Yu put the chicken save for its wings and entrials into another pot of boiling water._ _Now he's moved onto kneading his own noodles._

"From the way he's cutting those noodles... he's going to make lasagna without a doubt." Isshiki thought, "But he still hasn't done anything with those three odd ducks of his."

"Okay... this had been cooked enough." Yu thought as he tastes a small portion of his unseasoned chicken broth.

 _Yu then drains a small portion of the chicken broth into a seperate container, and then covers it in order to keep it warm._

"Look... he's adding those three weird ingredients, plus the leftover onions he chopped, and some chilli pepper leaves." Rindou pointed out.

"Chayote, onions, ginger, fish sauce, chilli pepper leaves, chicken, and chicen broth." Eizan thought, but then his eyes went wide with realization, "He's going to make that soup... but the rules clearly state he only can present one dish... what is he going to do with it?"

"You've filled your end of the bargin little birdy, so I'll free you from your cage just like I helped to free her." Yu thought as he removed the chicken from his second simmering pot.

"He removed the chicken? If he's making that soup... he should have left it in longer." Eizan thought as Yu adds a few more spices in place of the chicken.

 _But the way Yu was standing in front of his stove made it impossible for the three members of the Elite 10 to see exactly what he added. Once that was taken care of... he then moves onto adding spices to the pot filled with tomatoes... ultimatley turning it into a sauce._

"Hurry up Narukami... I wanna try it all ready." Rindou declared like a kid in a candy store once the smell of the chicken broth and tomatoes filled her nose.

"Sorry... but you're going to have to wait. It'll be at least an hour before I'm done." Yu said in an apologetic tone.

"Awww." Rindou pouts.

 _After several more prepatory steps, Yu has arrived at the last one he'll make before putting the lasangna in the overn... and that is the act of actually putting the lasana together. Noodle, sauce, seafood, and repeat... until at last the lasanga pan is filled._

"Here's to hoping the oven doesn't catch fire." Yu thought as he placed his uncooked lasagna inside the afformentioned cooking impliment, "I hope I didn't just raise my own death flag with that comment."

 _Now all that's left from here is for Yu to clean up after himself. Since Tōtsuki Academy is a fancy cooking school there are ikely a few employees who would do this for him without a second thought, but no... he'll do this himself. Not doing so would make him look bad in front of his proctors, it would be rude to the kitchen he borrowed, and he's used to doing such things himself anyway._

"Honored proctors, if I might make a simple request." Yu said as he offers a slight bow to the three teenagers before hum.

 _Yu does so because he fully understands how these three teenagers... the best chefs in the school can easily decide his fate at the drop of a hat._

"If you think we're going to go easy on you just because you ask then you have another thing coming." Eizan interjects.

"I wouldn't expect you to, but that's not what I was going to ask." Yu said as he stops for a moment only to catch his breathe, "Since I've already taken care of cleaning up after myself and there's nothing else for me to do until the oven timer goes off... would it be alright if I excused myself to use the restroom?"

"Go go... you're a big boy now... you don't need my permission for something like this." Rindou said as she dismissed Yu with a handwave, but that was only because her senses are still focused on the fragrence coming out of the oven the lasagna was baking in.

"Ah... Narukami." Isshiki said ather suddenly right at the moment Yu placed his hand on the door.

"What is it?" Yu asks as he turns his head over his shoulder.

"Down one floor from the stairs to your left, make a right at the first intersection, and you should see the signs almost immediately." Isshiki said as he apparently decided to give Yu directions to the closest facilities.

* * *

 _In return Yu offers the 7th seat of the Elite 10 a silent nod of thanks before continuing on his way. The trip to the restroom itself was also nothing special... a flush of a toilet as well as the washing of hands, however thanks to destiny's intervention the return trip would soon devolve into a more complex situation._

"Ring ring... ring ring." goes the phone of Yu Narukami one more time.

 _Once again Yu checks the caller ID on his phone. There was no number listed but instead only a name, and it was one he did'nt recognize either._

"Kami-sama? Is this some kind of joke?" Yu thought as he placed his phone against his ear.

"Hello hello... this is kami-sama the delivery god at your service. For just 300 yen I'll do whatever it is you ask of me." said the same entity that came to Yu in his dreams... only with a bright cheery tone of voice.

"You're not Yato." Yu said with a straight face as he felt his blood pressure rise.

"Ha ha... you're no fun... I thought a teenager would appreciate a manga refference." the voice said as it gave off a devious yet evil laugh.

"How did you get my number?" Yu asked as he let an ever rare serious expression slip out of his face.

"I'm a god... one almost double... no make that tripple in strength compared to Izanami since she split her existence in two." the voice said as if he was still debating what to do next as he spoke.

 _The sense of unease this god portrayed was of course no more than an act of misdirection meant to mess with Yu's mind. It wouldn't work as Yu's psyche has gone through far more ardous trials, but then this god knew that too._

"It's a simple matter for me to snap my fingers... and poof your phone records appear directly in front of me. Speaking of which... your girlfriend... Yukiko... I believe has called you a few times over the past hour. I mean it's understandbal that you couldn't answer since you had 3 members of Tōtsuki's Elite 10 watching you, but still you should call her back as soon as you can." the voice said as he this time portrayed the tone of a curious teenger.

"Don't you dare touch her!" Yu yelled with clear anger... so much so that it actually shows on his face.

"Oh I'm sorry... I didn't mean to touch a nerve, but then... you know a little bit of about how I felt now. Still... I didn't get your number from your phone records... such things are beneath a god." the voice said as he starts to show off his more darker nature.

"Then where?" Yu thought as he wished he had his uncle Dojima on hand to track where the phone call was coming from.

 _Still... just to what extenet could modern tech stand up to the mystical deity that this voice claims to be?_

"Well let's just say... I got it from a mutual bear we know." the voice declared.

"You bastard... what did you do to him?!" Yu yelled.

"I messed with his mind a little... for his own good you understand, but otherwise he's completely healthy... in fact he's closer then you think." the voice smirked.

"Huh?" Yu said as his newfound anger prevents him from seeing whatever point the voice is trying to make.

"Oh for the love of... look to your right you idiot!" the voice yells out of frustration.

"There's no one there." Yu said after he followed the voice's directions.

"Ha ha sorry sorry. I meant that you should look to your left. The method I'm using to obverve you now sometimes messes with my sense of direction." the voice said as he revealed that this was only another way for him to mess with Yu's head.

 _Once again Yu follows the directions this voice gives him, and there he goes... laying his eyes on that familliar bear. His hair was still blond, his eyes still blue, and he's still wearing that white shirt with a rose on it that was unknowingly bought with Youske's money._

"Teddie!" Yu yelled for the sake of getting the attention of his charished friend.

 _But Teddie doesn't say anything, he doesn't move his head, and in fact... it's starting to seem more like Teddie is ignoring Yu's presence in his entirety. After a second passes, Teddie walks into one of the nearby kitchen classrooms and closes the door behind him._

"Damn it... it's locked." Yu mumbled as he tries but fails to open the door Teddie walked through.

"Ah... no point in that... if I let you walk in there, you'd figure out how to find me without having to work for it... and that woyldn't be fair. Contrary to what my mythos states... I'm a firm believer in fair play." the voice said it somehow forcably turned on the loudspeaker of Yu's phone.

"You think I don't have what it takes to break it down?" Yu retorts.

"After fighting in that place for more than a year... your strength is much higher then the average human so I don't doubt you have what it takes, but we both know you actually take that course of action. You chose to accept the director's offer in order to become a better man for her... and even if your dish surpasses... well me... in quality... there's no way they'll let you into Tōtsuki if you cause a scene." the voice smirks.

"Bastard..." Yu thought as this entity makes it all too aware that he has him by the shoelace.

"Now if you want to help your friend... you'll have to promise to listen to exactly what I tell you." the voice said.

"What makes you think I'll listen to you?" Yu counters.

"Because the only person I intended to blatantly kidnap was the shadow turned nearly human that you call Teddie. If you don't then I suppose I'll have to pay a visit to your loved ones... think I'll start with your parents, then your precious Nanako, and I'll top it off with the heriess of the Amagi Inn." the voice answered as he lit a little bit of killing intent through to further strengthen his point.

"Bastard!" Yu yelled within his own mind.

"So... do you promise?"the voice asks.

"Fine... you're not leaving me with much choice." Yu reluctantly answered.

"Good... I'll send you instructions later, and like I said in your ream you'll figure out where to go next on your own. By the way... you were in that stall for a much longer time then you thought, so if you want to make it back before the oven timer goes off... I suggest that you hurry." the voice said before bursting out into a cliche evil laugh.

* * *

 _As much as Yu loathes himself for thinking this... he knows that there's nothing else he can do right now. If he had to compare his current state to anything... it be to how powerless he felt when Nanako was kidnapped by Namatame._ _The savior of two worlds walks back to the classroom where three out of the 10 members of the Elite 10 await._

"Perfect timing." Eizan thought as Yu walked back into the kitchen classroom right at the moment the oven's timer went off.

"Is something a matter?" Isshiki asks as he takes note of Yu's attempt to forcably supress his current emotional state.

"It's nothing... I just recieved some bad news while I was in the restroom, but since I already got the hard part out of the way... it shouldn't negativley affect how my dish will taste." Yu answered as calmly as he could whilst walking over to the oven.

"Now hurry up and bring it out." Rindou interjects as she seems to be so captivated by the smell of Yu's dish that it actually stops short of being a form of mind-control.

 _Yu was able to take out his lasagna without any further problems, but he knows better than to serve this to the proctors right out of the oven. First he waits 15 minutes for the lasagna to settle and cool down, then he cuts it into even pieces, and Yu even puts a fancy dish cover over it before presenting it to his three teenage proctors._

"This... this is.." Rindou mumbles aloud as she removes the dish cover from her share.

"This is no ordinary lasana Narukami, no ordinary lasanga!" Isshiki decalred as he does the same.

"Ramba Ral... is that you?" Yu thought.

 _Once the three dish covers were removed, the anticipation the three members of the Elite 10 felt towards Yu's dish burst forth even though some of them tried to hide it. Why it's almost as if their excitement took the form of a bright light... blinding them to the shape of the dish like some manga gag meant to help even further build anticipation right at the end of the chapter. Speaking of which..._

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

Yu: Just what kind of world is this?

?: Well then... my first term is...

Yu: Next time on Shokugeki no Megami Tensei "The Midnight Oven III".

?: Thou art I... and I am thou... Though hast established a new bond...


	4. The Midnight Oven III

**Shokugeki no Megami Tensei**

 **Chapter 4**

 **The Midnight Oven III**

* * *

 _A deity has begun his torment of Yu Narukami, and has forced the savior of worlds and slayer of gods to play a game with rules the former of the two has yet to reveal unless the latter wishes to bring harm to his love ones. Before the hero can begin play the god's game, he must first see if his skills as a chef can impress three of Tōtsuki Academy's ten best chefs._

"This is no ordinary lasagna Narukami, no ordinary lasanga!" Isshiki decalred as the appearence of Yu's dish shocks the former to the point where temporarily stands up from his seat.

 _Looking at it from the top, Yu's lasagna was perfectly white as the mozzerella cheese had perfectly melted across leaving no part over or under cooked. Then if you look at its multiple layers from the side... it was as if someone took a picture of what magma looks like flowing through the earth's crust. The tomato sauce was bright redwith the bits of shrimp and crab meat being like diamonds resillient for surviing such heat._

"Well... if nothing else it looks pretty though the taste is still what matters... but what's this?" Rindou asks as she points to somthing that's on her plate as well as the plate of her colleauge's.

 _The thing that the second seat of the Elite 10 was pointing at was a sauce bowl that had a built in spout filled with a dark yet faded green sauce._

"It's the special paint that will make the inner-core of the dish even more apparent when you taste it." Yu answered, "Feel free to take the first bite with or without the sauce, however I insist you try it at least once so you can see this lasagna's true self."

"He's not serving the lasagna with that soup? I had expected him to dip the lasagna into a small bowl of the stuff." Eizan thought, "Yu Narukami... just what are you planning?"

"True self? You say some interesting things... but let's get this over with." Isshiki mumbled as he poured a tiny amount ofthe sauce Yu made onto a piece of the lasagna he cut with his fork.

 _These three members of the Elite 10 all wrapped their mouths around Yu's dish, and they were all curious as to whether or not the truth hidden in the fog he created wasenough to prove himself worthy of admittance into their illustrious and hellish school._

"I see... for this dish he-" Eizan was about to say.

"Excuse me, but our leader wants to see you as soon as possible. If there's nothing else could you go now." said a young man.

 _The man Eizan talks to looks like an ordinary 24-25 yearold office worker, however there is one strange thing about him... namely his head is that of a head of a shrimp. What's even more strange is that Eizan reacts as if this is perfectly normal._

"As a member of the investigation team... I know what my responsibilities are." Eizan sighed as he started to walk down in a seemingly random direction.

 _But the 9th seat wasn't walking in a random direction... in fact he was walking towards an elevator while passing by a series of office workers, of whom some had the head of a shrimp while others were just ordinary humans._

"They should be capable of doing more than this with the budget we have... I'll cut their paychecks if they don't pick up the pace." Eizan thought as he subconciosuly rest his hand on a table made of ginger.

 _That's right... I said ginger... in fact the entire floor of this as of yet unnamed office, and likely the entire building are made out of the various ingredients Yu had put into his lasagna. The floor/ceiling was as red as a tomato, the cubicle walls made of various herbs, office appliances made of various spices, and the list can only go on from there._

"Now if I'm being called... it's likely the other two have been summoned as well." Eizan thought.

 _The other two Eizan speaks of can only be Rindou and Isshiki of course, but just where are they within this building made of food? Rindou's position is currently unknown, however the 7th seat of the Elite 10 is only a few dozen feet away from entering the top floor office of this mysterious leader of theirs._

"I wonder if our leader has finally figured out the solution to that complex case we've been stuck with." Isshiki thought as he continued to walk down a small hallway.

 _Suddenly the 7th seat finds his attention grabbed by a hole in a normally pristene wall made of a really long lasagna noodle, and the single soul seemingly preoccuipied with fixing it._

"What happened?" Isshiki asks.

"According to the building inspector... one of the hinges that keeps the power lines in place collapesed, causing a fragment to cut a wire below it, then the wire below fell onto a rusted warnout section gas line... causing the hole you see. Right now I have to fix all the pipes and wiring before I can even patch up this hole, but thankfull our leader wasn't here when this happened." the single soul said as it turned around to face Isshiki.

 _This young soul was a young woman that for some strange reason had the head of a chicken, but like Eizan... Isshiki considered this to be perfectly normal and doesn't even offer the slightest reaction out of character... yet all that is not even close to the strangest part about this situation. Asides from a white liquid slowly oozing out of the broken wall, the broken gaslines, and the cut powerlines... this chicken-headed employee makes no reaction to the very visible support beams (responsible for holding this bulding up) are made out of what is clearly very large chicken bones. Why it seemed like then someone hit a chicken with a grow beam, killed it, and simply gutted it for parts._

"Ah... speaking of which I better hurry up and see him." Isshiki thought as offered a quick goodbye to this chicken headed contractor and continued on his way.

 _A few seconds later Isshiki arrived outside of the door of their leader, and it was impossible for him to miss it as it was the only door blatantly made out of different material then all the doors that came before, after, or across from it._

"He has an odd sense of humor." Isshiki chuckles.

 _What makes this door different is the fact that the door iself is made from the shell of a crab's main body... while the crown molding that contains the door is in actuality made from a variety of crab legs._

"Now to get this over with." Isshiki thought as he closed the crabby door behind him.

 _Now there is only one... so just where is Rindou? Well the truth of the matter is that she's not inside this strangely constructed office building. In fact she fully intended to blow of work to go out and eat all the food at a new restauraunt, but when she recieved the leader's summons... she rushed over as if her life depended on it._

"Heh... heh... yes... barely... made it." Rindou sighed as her legs have taken her as far as they could go with only a single intake of oxygen.

 _Regardless of however far Rindou had actually ran... she should count herself extremely lucky that her legs decided to give out right in front of her place of employment._

"It always brightens up my day to walk up to this building." Rindou thought as she gazes upon her place of employment with a great deal of enjoyment.

 _That buildings was covered in darg green yet faded scales that shined brightly under the sun. Even though they were all the same color... it was still a beautiful site... like one was looking at one of the beautfil glass artworks one could only find in cathedral's of the world._

"Ah... it's a little late to say, but buon appetito onorato proctors." Yu said as he calmly showed off his multi-lingual skills.

 _As soon as Yu spoke, these three members of the Elite 10 were instantly brought out of their food themed office fantasy and were put back into reality._

"You're fluent in Itlaian?" Isshiki asks as here at Tōtsuki it's rare when someone says more than 'Buon Appetitio' when serving food.

"As well as Korean, Spanish, and French but only the basics of all of the above." Yu answered.

 _Yu actually wanted to ask what opinion his honored proctor's held towards his dish, but he bit his tounge as he knew that it would be bad form at a school like Tōtsuki._

"Before we get to the actual judging..." Rindou mumbled.

 _Fantasy aside... each member of the Elite 10 had their own reaction to Yu's dish. Eizan was surprised by the flavor though was able to hide his reaction well, Rindou seemed to have started sweating a liitle while somehow forcing herself to not break out into a seizure, and finally Isshiki seemed like he was about to burst out into tears._

"That was really tasty, so can I have seconds please?" Rindou asks as she holds up her empty plate to Yu like how one would hold up a lunch tray to a cafeteria worker.

"Ah sure." Yu said as he starts cutting another piece out of his lasagna tray.

 _Yu was a little surprised when Rindou asked for seconds... the problem wasn't that she asked, but that she ate her first serving so quickly. To eat something like a lasagna quickly would always create a mess, but Rindou's uniform as well as the countertop she was using as a table was perfectly imaculate._

"At first glance this looks like an ordinary sea food lasagna, but that isn't the case at all is it?" Rindou asks as her cat fang like teeth sticks out of her lips, but she already knew the answer to her own question.

"Yes... it's a cury seafood lasagna with tomato sauce as the base. After heating tightly packed tomatoes in a pot I used the liquid they released and tossed in a gram masala mix consisting of coconut milk, coreander, cloves, cumin, cinamon, and asafoetida. It gives the 'truth' of the dish... the shrimp and crab meat of being grilled when in actuality they were sauteed."

"Yet before I tasted the seafood... the tasted a faint hit of the chicken broth you used to mix in the cheese sauce... made of a slightly more bitter kind of coconut milk, salt, mozzerella cheese, ricotta cheese, and cudamin." Isshiki points out, "The theme of this test was to makea a seafood dish after all."

"And yet with all of your senses being focused on the outer taste of the chicken... after you went through it weren't you amazed by the seafood within?" Yu retorts.

"I see... that's why he removed the chicken early on." Isshiki though as he had a shocking realization about Yu's dish, "The only reason he used the chicken was to grab our attention... like fads that pass through people. Most humans will obsess over something new, but eventually they get bored of it... so when another new thing comes along they act like it was superior all along. Furthermore with how the taste of the tomato sauce fad sharply contrasts with the cheese sauce fad... it only makes the taste of the shrimp and crab shine even higher. To think there was someone outsidie of Tōtsuki that could make a dish of this level, but I know I still haven't gotten every message this Narukami has put in this work of art."

"Most humans only focus on the outer layer of the person next to them... or on what they think to be the truth of the person next to them. The few people that take the time to look past someone's outerlayer and towards their hidden depths will be amazed by what they find. It's a truth I learned durring the year I lived in Inaba." Yu chuckled as he looked back to his series of life and death situations he dealt with, "Anyways... I made this lasagna with that in mind."

"Speaking of hidden depths... I can taste parmasean cheese yet I don't see any in the tomato nor the cheese sauce." Rindou points out.

"Ah... allow me to explain." Yu said as he reaches for one the excess lasagna noodles he made.

 _Yu tears that single pasta noodle in two, and turns the cross-section of it towards his honored proctors in order to reveal the surprise that lay inside._

"I see... three layered pasta noodle with parmasean cheese at the center." Rindou mumbled as he finds herself amused by the proverbial jack-in-the-box.

"I also kneaded tumeric and orange zest into the outer layers of the pasta in order to wake-up your senses, so you could better appreciate the flavor.

"The three layers prevent the cheese from leaking out... impressive creativity, but the real clincher for this dish is this sauce you so heavily reccomended. I can say it's well made, but at the same time it doesn't appear to be any kind of sauce I'm familliar with." Isshiki says aoud.

"The reason you don't recognize it is because it's underheard of to make that into a sauce." Eizan said as he apparently decided to finally make his opinion of Yu's dish.

"Then you recognize it Eizan... well don't keep us in suspense. Just what is this sauce?" Isshiki asks

"This sauce was made from the broth of Tinola soup." Eizan answered as he maintained his calm demanor though it still fails in comparison to Yu's god-tier stoicess.

"Tinola... that's a soup in Filipino cuisine commonly served as an appetizer at resturaunts. I see... Filipino cuisine is rarely seen among Tōtsuki students to the point where we don't even have an instructr for it. So that's why I didn't recognize it." Isshiki thought.

"Now I see why you removed the chicken early in the cooking process. The faint flavor of that fowel along with the onions, tarragon, ginger, etc... thickened with potato starch... it creates the illusion of someone falling into the same trap twice... so that once we finally reach the seafood within... it makes us appreciate the flavor all the more. People... are more likley to believe something they had to work for even if it is true or not after all." Eizan explained, "This was your way of converying the persiverence of humanity was it not?"

"You're correct... sometimes on life's journey you'll get knocked down... sometimes for the same reason multiple times, but if you can find the will to keep walking towards the end you set for yoursef... then it'll only make the completion of that journey all the more worth it." Yu explained.

"Yu Narukami... it seems like he has a profound understanding of human nature." Isshiki thought.

"It was pretty good, but the combination of ingredients was so unusual... you had to have gotten the idea from this dish from somewhere else." Rindou pointed out as she eyes the lasagna pan Yu used hoping more of his concoction remained inside.

"Using lasagna was my own thing... as for the parmasean stuffed pasta, tomato curry sauce, and tinola suace... I did get it from somewhere else." Yu explained, "The lattermost of the three came from one of my old classmates in Inaba. His grandma was filipino and he ofted brought tinola in his bento, so one day he taught me to make it after I found an angelic statue in an old castle in exchange."

"Angelic statue? Old castle? Is he a chuuni?" Eizan thouht.

"What the pasta and the tomato sauce?" Ishiki asks.

"In a few chapters of a popular cooking manga I've been reading... a pair of Italian twin brothers were entered into a major cooking contest hosted by the school they attened. The older twin used the three layered pasta while the younger used the curry tomato sauce, and one day while I was craving seafood I combined the two ideas to create the predecessor of the dish you see before you. Ah... not that it matters, but the names of these brother were... odd... I can't seem to remember."

"There is one more thing... it's clear the unity of this dish is due to the way the spices were prepared, but they clearly weren't sauteed, steeped, roasted, or put it as is... but you did do something to them." Isshiki points out after he savored another bite of Yu's curry seafood lasagna.

"That's because I didn't use any of the methods you mentioned to bake those spices. I used baked spices in advance." Yu explained.

"I see... it's good, but very difficult way of preparing spices... none the less the way you mellowed out the spices with minimal effect on their impact as impressive." Isshiki retorts.

"Yes... that was my curry sea food lasagna it the best form I can give it right now." Yu said.

"Curry huh... maybe we should make that the theme for this year's Autum Election prelims." Isshiki jokingly suggests to his colleauges.

"That's something all 10 of us has to decide." Eizan retorts.

"Ahem..." Rindou mumbled as she faked a cough in order to get everyone's attention, "Now then... Yu Narukami... it's time to see whether or not you'll be the first person to pass Tōtsuki's third year transfer exam."

 _Though a different kind then what he felt fighting in that other world, Yu felt an intense pressure suddenly placed on his shoulders. One far more intense than the practice game he played with Kou, the play he put on with Yumi, or the music recital with Ayanae. He knew this wouldn't seal his future, but at the same time he didn't want to deal with one path towards it being closed off if he could help it. Would he become a first in Tōtsuki or another one of its cautionary tales? It's time for Yu and you to find out the answer to that question._

"Well then... as long you can continue to make tasty stuff like this for me to try at Tōtsuki... then you have my vote." Rindou said as she approvingly looks at Yu.

"That's good." Yu said as he continued to maintain his legendary calmness but on the inside he was breathing a massive sigh of relief.

 _However he still doesn't let his guard down in this trial. Yu fully realizes that getting the approval of 1 proctor still means absolutely nothing when it comes to passing the transfer exam._

"What about you Issh-" Yu was about to say, "Where did he go?"

 _When Yu turned to face Isshiki he found that the 7th seat of the Elite 10 had moved out from behind the countertop, but before he could glance his head around the room... Yu suddenly feels the sensation of someone grabbing his hand._

"Amazing... Narukami-san!" Isshiki yelled as waterfalls worth of tears flowed out both of his eyes.

 _Yu's hand was unwillingly pulled into a handshake with his potential crying underclassman, and he's able to look at him with his famous straight face but at the same time he was rather surprised by this behavior._

"Probably because he didn't have any killing intent, but I can't believe he was able to get this close without me notcing despite having my senses honed in that world. Just who is this guy?" Yu thought in utter shock though he was still able to show of his legendary calmness with ease.

"Your curry seafood lasagna was simply amazing Narukami-sa... no... Narukami-senpai. Someone of your level simply must attend Tōtsuki Academy, and once the school year starts you have to move into our Polar Star Dormitory. Right now we don't have any 3rd years staying with us, but with you... you'll easily become an inspiration to our current residents."

"I see." Yu notes, "As I'm still dealing with moving I have to at the very least help to unpack the belongings of my parents, but I'll consider your offer."

"I'll hold you to it. Still amazing... your dish was like a perfectly designed office building with a well oiled machine-like staff working within." Isshiki said before he returned to his original spot behind the counter.

 _Perhaps it was the result of the kind of person he was before he moved to Inaba, but Yu already knew in his heart that he'd likely refuse Isshiki's offer. Make no mistake he loves the energy that courses through him when he hangs out with his friends... yet ultimatley when he's at home he'd prefer to have some peace and quiet._

"I changed because of the friends I made in Inaba... and because of her... maybe I'll change my mind and decide to move into the dorms after all." Yu thought a small grin appeared on his face.

"What's your opinion Eizan? Does he pass in your eyes?" Rindou asks.

"My opinion doesn't matter since you two already approve of him." Eizan shrugged.

"Oh I know your opinion doesn't matter at all." Rindou said as if it were no big deal, "But the protocol for the third year transfer exam says all the students overseeing it has to give a vote for or against."

"He passes... but barely." Eizan sighs.

 _The 9th seat of the Elite 10 only said that for two reasons. First... even Yu seriously got on his nerves... it wasn't to the point where Eizan would sabatouge him outright but where he'd simply judge him by his highest standards... and much to his reluctance Yu did indeed barely meet his standards. Second and more importantly... he knows Rindou would give him grief about voiting against Yu until the day he dies and as a buisnessman Eizan would rather not have to deal with such headaches._

"Congradulations Yu Narukami for being the first person to ever pass Tōtsuki... and with the highest score possible to boot." Rindou said as she extended her hands towards Yu.

"Thank you." Yu said as he returned her offer with a smile.

 _Despite whatever the deity that kidnapped Teddie has planned... even he couldn't deny Yu the hapiness that comes with being accepted into the world's greatest cooking institution._

"I'm so happy that I think I could cry." Yu said with the straightest of faces to rival even the highest of fives.

"Then actually cry... what did you get botox injections in every single one of your facial muscles." Eizan thought as finds himself continuing to be surprised by Yu's god-tier stoicness.

"Even though we're the same year... I'm still your senpai cause of my Elite 10 status, but... if you make tasty stuff like that for me I don't mind helping you out if you need it." Rindou said as an ever rare honest smile appeared on her face.

 _For all of her seriousness, laziness, and playfulness... Rindou Koybayashi is truly serious about the wonders of the culinary world. For that reason Yu finds himself starting to understand just a little but about the nature of the school's second best student chef._

"Thou art I... and I art though." said a familar deep voice within the back of Yu's mind.

 _Yu of course immediatley recognizes this voice... it is the one that speaks to him after he forms a new bond and again once that bond reaches hs peak, but why is it speaking to him now. Well regardless... like all the times before time seems to stop around Yu when he hears this voice, and save for perhaps an unknown person with the wild card near by... he's the only one that notices as well._

"Thou hast form a new bond of the Empress Arcana." said that deep voice.

"Just what the hell is going on here? I already have a bond of that arcana with Margret." Yu thought as he comes close to breaking his stoic facade.

 _But then soon enough time resumed for Yu Narukami and the rest of the world._

"Is something wrong?" Rindou asks as she takes note of Yu's slightly pained expression.

"It's nothing... I just have to use the restroom again." Yu answered as it was one part quick cover and another part that he really had to go.

"Didn't you go earlier?" Rindou asks again.

"It was only to clean myself up after I put the lasagna in the over, but I was only gone as long as I was because I got distracted by that bad news phone call." Yu answered as this was conviently the truth, but also conveniently not the whole truth.

"Ah okay then... you can go on home, but the rest of us have something to take care of here. Information packets concerning the third year cariculum will be sent to you later." Rindou explained.

 _Yu left the kitchen without any difficulties... leaving only Rindou, Isshiki, and Eizan inside... or at least that is hat the most senior member of the Elite 10 hoped to be the case._

"Alright... what did you... where did Eizan go?" Rindou asked once she realized that the 9th seat was no longer in the room.

"He left as soon as he offered his vote saying he had to catch up with his clients." Isshiki answered.

"Jerk... anyways Narukami... he may have impresssed us enough to get us to pass him, but where do you think his actuall skill level as a chef is?" Rindou asks of Ishhiki.

"Using the directors words and the fact that Yu is clearly self-trained... he's like a diamond that's had all the dirt on it removed on it and was polished to a shine, but the shape of his diamond is rough and jagged preventing it from a shining as brightly as it could or showing off its true lustre. He simply lacks the skills that can only be gained through formal training, but I'd say the most interesting thing about Narukami-sa... senpai is that his cooking style... though the feel of it is different and there's obviously a difference in actual skill... it is exactly the same as the first seat." Isshiki said as indicated by his tone and words that he considers Yu to already Tōtsuki in a sense beyond a mere test.

"In a more blunt sense... he's like the 5.3... if not 5.2 seat of the Elite 10, but as long as Narukami is dedicated to his cooking at the academy's lessons... by the end of the year he might actually be able to make Tsukasa fight seriosuly to keep his seat for once." Rindou said as she's excited that Yu's one more of the many waves of excitment that will be her last year at Tōtsuki.

* * *

 _Now that the first of Yu's two recent major sources of stress was out of the way... he could now focus more of his attention on whatever game the deity that kidnapped Teddie has planned. For now however... the stress Yu has accumilated has worked its way through his gut at a rather fast pace._

"Nanako... your big bro has some good news." Yu says with a smile as he speaks into his phone.

 _As Yu leans against the wall near the entrance of the now empty bathroom (save for himself), you see he brought out his cellphone and decided to keep his promise to her from earlier about calling back._

"Did you pass big bro?" Nanako asks with blatant excitment in her voice as she answered her big bro's call about halfway through the first ring.

"Of course Nanako... there's nothing that can stop your invincible big bro's rise to the top." Yu smirks as he decides to play to the fantasy that Nanako sometimes views him with.

"Then you should come back to Inaba right now to celebrate. I'm sure all of your friends would come, and that dad will gladly take the rest of the day off once he hears the news." Nanako points out as the sound of her rummaging through something can be heard over the phone.

 _At this moment Yu couldn't help but imagine the sight of Nanako searching through the boxes in the back closet for the party ribbons he and his friends used to celebrate her release from the hospital._

"Anyways... I hope you haven't forgotten the promise you made big bro. I wanna take care of it the next time you come and visit." Nanako said though for some reason Yu couldn't help but imagine her blushing as she said that.

"But I never agreed to that childhood marrige promise... besides I have... Yuk... point is I never agreed to it." Yu thought as he finds himself to embarassed to finish his own sentence within his own mind.

"You said you'd show me how you became such a good cook before you left, but because the hospital we never got around to it." Nanako said.

"Oh thank goodness." Yu mumbled as he breathed a sigh of relief that sounded like a machine reading off a teleproctor.

"Why do you sound so relieved big bro?" Nanako asks as she's one of the only women besides Yukiko and his mother that can pic up the ludicrously subtle cues of his personality.

 _Did Yu really make such a promise with his unofficial little sister? He honestly has no memory of doing so, but Nanako is simply incapable of telling even the tiniest of fibs. Without a doubt, Yu would keep this other promise the first chance he got to visit Inaba._

"Every promise I make with you is important to me Nanako, but I guess... I was just worried that I forgot something especially important. Don't worry... big bro will teach you everything he can the first chance he gets to visit." Yu said as he started to wonder in the back of his mind why he's refering to himself in the third person.

"You're so big and mature big bro! Golden Week can't get here fast enough, and I know your probably busy big bro but there's one more thing I want to ask you." Nananko explained before taking a deep breath, "Do you know where Teddie is big bro? It's weird, but it seems like no one in town... not even my dad seems to remember him."

 _Thankfully Yu wasn't having this conversation in person... otherwise Nanako would have gotten her answer from the shocked reaction he's making right now. Should Yu give Nanako the chance to seek the truth? Or should she act like Izanami and keep her covered in the fog of ignorence?_

"Teddie? Who's that Nanako? A friend from school or an imaginary one perhaps?" Yu asks as he decides to pretent to be one of the people who had his memories of Teddie erased.

"That's not funny big bro. He was practically the mascot of our local Junes, and hung out with you and all the other big kids all the time." Nanako retorts as she was surprised by what Yu said, but whehter or not she believes him is another matter.

"Sorry Nanako, but I really have no idea who you are talking about." Yu quickly said, "Anyways I have to go Nanako."

 _Doing that to Nanako hurt Yu a lot on the inside, and I'm not talking about simply hanging up on her. He's always suspected that Teddie somehow saved her life and was grateful to him, but Yu would absolutely not allow Nanako to be a target again. He loathes himself for not realizing Nanako fit Namatame's criteria sooner since the "Killer" had to be a local. Unless something changes, Nanako has to be left ignorant for her own safety._

"They may not like it..." Yu sighed as his mind was filled with the faces of his friends, "But I know they'll understand why I did it."

* * *

 _Now that there's nothing else binding Yu to Tōtsuki for the day... he decides to leave the academy's illustrious grounds, but as soon as Yu's only a few minutes away from actually wakling through the school's main entrance he finds some haughty prepschool kid standing over a red had that seemed to be wearing the uniform of an ordinary public school._

"This academy isn't a place for a simpleton like you! It's a sacre-" the haughty teen yelled, but he only stopped mid-sentence because he felt someone tap his shoulder from behind, "What?!"

"Once of my neighbors was nice enough to drop me off here on their way to work, but since I haven no ride home... would you happen to know where the closest bus or train station is?" Yu asks as he intentionally or not took advantage of his god-tier stoicness whilst staring right into the eyes of this haughty teen.

 _The haughty teen yelled at Yu not because of something he did, but because of the red-headed teen's presence for some strange reason. If Yu hasn't realized it yet... then he'll soon learn about the incredible amount of tension this place can cause._

"Uhh... no... I don't know where the cloest ones would be. Also... umm... sorry for yelling." the haughty teen answered as Yu's stoicness actually put the fear of god in him a little.

 _Yu then chooses to walk past this haughty teen since he doesn't posess the informaton he needs, and instead heads towards the red head on the floor._

"Here." Yu whispered as he stretched out his hand in order to offer the red headed teen some assistance.

"Ah... thank you." the red headed teen said as he gladly accepted this gesture of kindness though he was still a little surprised by it given his recent experience.

"Do you know where the cloest train station or bus station is from here?" Yu asks the readheaded teen.

"Yeah... once you get back on the road from the school's main entrance take a left at the first intersection, walk straight for a mile, and you'll find a train station that'll take you pretty much anywhere." the redheaded teen said as he seemed to be immune to Yu's stoicness, "Ha ha... I only know cause I came here the same way."

"I owe you one. I'm already near bursting into tears, so if I ended up having to walk alot I would have cried." Yu said.

"But... you're face looks like it's frozen in place." the redheaded teen thought as he shrugs within his own mind, "My name is Yukihira Soma, and I'm here to take Tōtsuki's transfer exam."

"Yu Narukami, and I just passed the transfer exam." Yu replies with a quick smile as he ended up shaking Soma's hand.

"Ohh... congradulations... but you won't be alone on that list. I'll pass the exam too and join you." Soma declared as some small part of his personality reminded Yu of Yosuke.

"I look forward to it, and normally I'd stay longer to talk but if you'll excuse me... I have things to do." Yu informed.

 _Yukihra Soma and Yu Narukami exchanged a quick goodbye with one another._

"A little tall for a first year student... but I wonder how good of a chef he is? Weird though... didn't have any cuts and like on his hands." Soma mumbled to himself.

"A first year? That guy is clearly way too tall, but no... no way he could have been here for the third year exam... must be for the second year exam... if not visiting someone he knows here." the haughty prep-school teen thought.

* * *

 _As Yu started walking towards the closest train station... he started working on a very long text message that he intended to send to all of his friends. It contained the summary of Yu passing the transfer exam, his conversation with the deity that kidnapped Teddie, seeing the bear himself, and most importantly his decision to keep Nanako in the dark about what's going on._

"And send." Yu thought as finally got around to sending his mass text.

 _Within a minute Yu started to recieve replies from Kanji, Chie, Yosuke, Yukiko, Rise, and Naoto in that order. He fully intended to respond to these indidual text messages, but his phone started to ring again as he was already about to finish his first reply. The caller... was of course someone Yu absolutley couldn't ignore._

"Congradulations on passing the transfer exam." the mysterious deity said in an obviously faked and intentionall half-assed happy tone.

"Like you didn't already know." Yu retorts as he makes the agression in his voice quite clear.

"Ha ha ha... I'm glad you think so well of me Narukami, but contrary to what you think I can't follow you around 24/7. Even us deities have dayjobs... though Chronos was strange enough to run a school festival in a pocket dimension." the deity laughed.

"Chronos?" Yu asks out of confusion.

"Oh... I figured only your memories of them were erased... didn't think the entire thing would be wiped clean." the mysterious deity said as he actually seemed legitamitley surprised for once, "Ignore that... I on the other hand am busy finishing up and maintaining my new playground."

"Playground?" Yu retorts.

"Oh... a cult... no that's a bit too strong... a group of fanatics dedicated to me dontated a park to one of the less than reputable neighboorhoods, and being the generous deity I am... I've hidden myself among the normal workers in order to offer a hand." the deity calmly explained.

"Why did you call? It obviosuly has to be for more than simple congradulatory words." Yu inquied.

"It was... I called you to tell you about the first little temr of our shared promise." the deity declared as he was back to being all buisness, "That supernatural show... your girlfriend was fascinated with... do you remember it?"

"Yeah... talks about occult rumors, local myths, and supernatural incidents of all kind." Yu answered.

"Their subject of today's broadcast is something rather interesting... I sugged that when you get home...you kick your feet up, collapse on the couch , and turn on the TV." the deity strongy suggests.

"Fine... I'll be sure to keep an hour free." Yu said with great reluctnace.

"That won't be nessecary... what you'll need to listen to should be one of if not the first thing they talk about." the deity retorts.

"Just what is he planning? If he wants revenge against me for something I did... why not get it over with?" Yu thought.

"Now then... ah Mizu-chan... what is it? Your daddy is busy right now." the deity said as he was clealy caught off guard by the presence of this Mizu-chan, "Sorry Narukami... I'll tell you the rest later."

"Just what the heck was that?" Yu thought as he too was completely caught off guard by whoever interupted this mysterious deity, but in more of a confused then a shocked sense.

 **To Be Continued**

Shadow: Roarghhhhhhh!

?: Ah... sorry about that... my control over this place isn't perfect.

Teddie: You mean there's more to this world than this giant frying pan?

?: Here you'll have the chance to obtain Holy-Basil to surpass all Holy-Basil, chicken to surpass the Satsuma Jidori, and many other countless ingredients only if you are willing to risk your life for them.

Yu: Next time on Shokugeki no Megami Tensei "The Midnight Oven IV"

?: Are you ready? The journey to the ultimate Shokugeki between a god and a god-killer is about to begin.


	5. The Midnight Oven IV

**Shokugeki no Megami Tensei**

 **Chapter 5**

 **The Midnight Oven IV**

* * *

 _The sun had already started to set in the night sky by the time Yu got home from his future school. Once he walked through the door of his house, Yu plugged in his phone and tossed the rest of the belongings he had on hand on a nearby kitchen countertop before plopping himself in front of the TV._

"Now that I think about it… this is the first time I've actually watched this show." Yu thought as he casually picks up and presses the power button on a nearby remote.

 _The TV screen (courtesy of a certain Junes employee) lit up revealing a stage akin to a talk show. A widescreen TV was built into a wall in the back of the stage, there were two one-seater couches placed at an angle on both sides of the TV, and a large table set in between them. Most importantly, and in a most coincidently eerie fashion….. nearly everything was in various shades of velvet blue._

"Good evening everyone. My name is Elizabeth, and welcome to the Velvet Hour." This Elizabeth said in a serene yet very out there tone of voice.

 _This Elizabeth had short white hair, yellow eyes, and was wearing a blue dress akin to a stewardess outfit. That dress had 5 black circles with yellow buttons in the center of each circle running down the front._

"Velvet Hour? What is the Velvet Room short on spending money? Yu thought more as a joke worth a few laughs rather than a serious suggestion.

"To those of you tuning in for the first time… tuning, spooning, mooning." Elizabeth said as she moved in front of the TV on this stage, "Ha ha….. oh my…. I actually took this job after leaving my previous one as an elevator attendant to help support myself as I work to save my loved one's soul."

"What is she a chuuni?" Yu thought as even he finds Elizabeth's behavior unusual.

"Now now….. it is not as though I'm suffering from 8th grade delusion syndrome for those of you who are wondering, but… onto the topic of today's show." Elizabeth said as if she'd heard Yu's utterances in person.

"Is she reading my mind? Did she plant a listening device in my place?" Yu thought.

"For you new viewers who are wondering….. I may know a lot about humans, but I can't read people's minds through a television screen….. though it doesn't seem to stop people from comparing me to my sister's talent with a crystal ball." Elizabeth said as she places her head upon her hand in a thinking posture.

"Crystal ball…. I remember Margret using one at Yasogami's school festival…. Wait… Margret mentioned she had a sister once….. could it be?" Yu mumbled as his shocking thoughts sorely contradicted with his straight face like black and white.

"To pay back a favor I owe a friend, today's topic will cover an interesting supernatural rumor that's been going around the streets of Tokyo." Elizabeth revealed as she stepped to the right of the TV.

 _Elizabeth waves her hand at the TV within the TV, and upon it appears a PowerPoint presentation of pictures of various gourmet dishes. Things like Kig ha farz,_ _Tavë kosi, Lihapullat, etc._ _Yu is only able to recognize a few of the more outlandish meals, but that only goes to show how vast the cooking world can be._

"What's with all of the fancy dishes?" Yu thought.

"Now some of you may be wondering what's with all of the fancy dishes, but I assure you it has everything to do with the subject of today's show." Elizabeth explained as it once again seems as though she overheard Yu.

"Hmm… I think I should check out that spy shop I saw, and see if they sell a bug detector." Yu thought, "Oh wait… I think Naoto gave me a cellphone case that doubles as a shortwave radio scanner….. I'll look for it in the boxes later."

"This little tidbit of supernatural fair concerns the many chefs in the Tokyo area from the up and coming beginner to the professional veterans." Elizabeth revealed before suddenly breaking out into a light chuckle, "Fair…. pair…. Hair….. oh my."

"Should I be expecting her to say 'lions, tigers, and bears oh my' next?" Yu thought as he wished for this lady to hurry up and get to the point.

"Ahem….. getting to the point….. Recently chefs of all kinds have been finding themselves drawn to the oven closest to them at midnight like they were a portal into a whole other world, and then these chefs suddenly find themselves waking up hours later with barely any memory of what happened in between." Elizabeth explained.

 _At the same time on the TV behind Elizabeth, a slideshow of faces started to play with captions at the bottom saying "Suspected Victims". Much like the series of dishes that were on display earlier, Yu only recognizes a few of the chefs on TV._

"What they do remember is challenging something or someone to some form of cooking match. If a lucky chef manages to win they get to learn the cooking techniques of the gods, and if they lose….. they forfeit all their ability as a chef. Unfortunately….. no human has been able to win so far against the techniques and ingredients used by the gods." Elizabeth explained as this time the TV behind her displayed gods of food from various mythos.

"So am I dealing with a god of food with a grudge?" Yu thought.

"I'll share what little I've gathered about the entity behind these rumors after these commercial messages." Elizabeth declared as the TV in Yu's house faded to black.

 _A commercial started to play about the second season of the anime version of the cooking manga that Yu has been reading recently a few seconds after his TV went to black. At the same time…. As if perfectly planned, Yu's cell begins to ring yet again today._

"So I trust you got the gist of what you have to do next?" the unnamed god asked as Yu put the call on speaker.

"Just how are you friends with Margret's sister?" Yu asks as his curiosity gets the better of him.

"She was just being polite on TV, but she did owe me a favor after I gave her some information to help with her goal." The god explained as it sounded like he was sipping a drink over the phone.

"What kind of information?" Yu asks as Elizabeth's show came back on TV, but the former isn't paying attention to the latter.

"Awwww….. are you trying to pry into a girl's secrets Yu?" the god said as he tried to imitate the tone of a coy school girl.

"You're not a schoolgirl." Yu retorts as his current level of annoyance was shockingly able to slip past his stoic façade.

"Ha ha…. that I am not." the god laughed as he clearly got a kick out of Yu's response, "She mentioned that she wanted to save a friend, and I told her the best way to do that was to be in Inaba for some less than natural festivities."

"What are you planning?" Yu demands to know as he quickly becomes concerned for the safety of his friends and family.

"I can honestly say that I'll have nothing to do with what'll go down in Inaba during Golden Week, but you're not going to believe me either way so let's move on." the god declared in a unexpectedly commanding tone of voice, "Contrary to what the rumor implies…. You don't need to wait until midnight to come visit me."

"Then what do you need me to do?" Yu retorts.

"Oh come now…. you don't really need me to tell you that do you? Find one of the katanas you got from Inaba's own god of the forge as well as any items you might have left from your TV world explorations, and if possible get your affairs in order." The god chuckled.

 _Yu refuses to continue the conversation going on with this mysterious deity and just hangs up his phone. He then reluctantly follows this god's metaphorical "10 Commandments" and finds his strongest sword as well as packs his leftover exploration items in a small sack. He then sits cross-legged in front of the oven in his kitchen as if waiting for some kind of sign to indicate the best moment to go in._

"Don't think….. feel." Yu mumbled, "Huh….. wonder why one of Chie's catchphrases popped into my mind? No matter…. Nothing to it but to do it."

 _Just as Yu was about to see if his hand would go in the oven like it did the TV in his old room back at Inaba, his cellphone started to ring yet again._

"Who is it?" Yu asks as he places his phone on speaker without looking at the caller ID.

"Relax senpai….. it's just me." said a young teen with a deep yet manly tone of voice.

 _Yu recognized the voice on the other side of his phone immediately. It belonged to his falsely accused of being a delinquent friend, and a man who will soon be known as "The Bloodcurdling Beefcake Emperor"…. Kanji Tatsumi._

"Sorry for not responding to your text earlier senpai. I've been busy helping ma with a lot of backorders, and I didn't see it until now. Would have taken longer if I didn't manage to rope Yosuke into it." Kanji said in a guilty tone of voice.

"As long as you weren't helping with Yosuke's backorder by being right behind him." Yu retorts.

"Huh? What are you-" and then it dawns on Kanji, of whom quickly says "Oh come on senpai….. I thought we put that behind us. I don't bat for that team."

 _In other words, the killer of a god Yu Narukami was questioning his friend's (for the lack of a better choice of words) sexual masculinity._

"What were you calling about Kanji?" Yu asks.

"I didn't think much of it at the time, but it came back to me after I read your message." Kanji explained, "A while ago because of the whole thing with the TV exploration and your uncle's crazy ex-partner….. I started following supernatural forums to help give me ideas for sewing projects."

"I take it you found something?" Yu asks after taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"Have you heard about what's been happening to the chefs around Tokyo?" Kanji asks in turn.

I have." Yu quickly answered as his interest was piqued by this line of questioning.

"Wow senpai…. You really have your ears to the ground, but…. that saves me a whole lot of time. Anyways….. someone posted a claim that they were a victim of what's been going on, and said they distinctly remembered asking who the person behind it was."

"What did they say?" Yu asks as he takes his phone off speaker not that there was anyone around listening in.

"They said that the person responsible told them to look towards the Shinto pantheon of gods, and the guy who kidnapped Teddie claimed he was one so…." Kanji explained as he tried to lead his senpai to a specific conclusion.

"You're saying that they might be one in the same." Yu deduced.

"If not the bastard that's behind this definitely knows the bastard that kidnapped Teddie." Kanji concludes.

"About that Kanji….." Yu said in (what he perceives to be) a guilty tone of voice.

 _At that moment Yu related to Kanji everything he had learned from the moment he sent that mass text earlier in the day up until now. He tells them about the deity's instructions to watch a supernatural TV show and that he needs to use an oven as an entrance to get to where Teddie is, however Yu decides to keep what he knows Elizabeth to himself. It's simply not his place to talk about her issues even if he only knows a little about it._

"That's about the gist of it." Yu concludes as he finishes his conveniently skipped over longwinded explanataion.

"That's a really horrible idea senpai. You shouldn't try fighting this guy by yourself… I mean come on….. this guy practically told you it was a trap." Kanji argues.

"I know, but if I let you or any of the others help me who knows what will happen to Teddie, so I have to go alone. Besides….. I'm not going to let anyone take away these peaceful days I worked so hard to fight for." Yu declared.

"Arghhhh… okay…. I understand senpai. As soon as we're done here I'll tell the others everything you told me." Kanji said as at this moment he wishes he was standing next to his respected senpai, "Sometimes a man has to do things alone even if it would be easier and smarter to ask for help."

"A man's god a thing called pride after all." Yu said aloud as he recalled Kanji's inner thoughts saying the same while he and his friends were racing through the TV World's bath house.

"Exactly… but I just have one more thing I want to say to you senpai before I hang up." Kanji revealed as he nodded his head in agreement, "Be sure to kick ass and take names!"

"You got it!" Yu declared with a thumbs up as he ended his phone call with Kanji.

 _After both taking a few seconds to catch his breath and feeling especially motivated by his phone conversation with Kanji, Yu steadily moves his hand towards his kitchen's oven window. Now he felt ready for whatever challenge is on the opposite side of this looking glass._

"Huh? At least I'm not forcibly being sucked in like the first time at Junes." Yu mumbled aloud as his hand went through his oven exactly like how it did with his TV back in Inaba.

 _Pulses of black and white waves were moving out from the center of Yu's hand in a manner akin to tiny pebbles being continuously dropped in a quiet and serene pond._

"Uh oh." Yu mumbled aloud as an invisible force only started to pull on his hand just now, "I jinxed myself."

 _Yu attempted to grab the handle of his oven's door as he was being sucked through its window, but no… sadly the god-tier and god killing stoic simply wasn't' fast enough. Unlike how it was when he went to the TV World, there was no "Loading Screen" for Yu. No… next thing he knew he was falling from a few dozen feet in the air, and lands (with a great deal of discomfort) on a dark metallic like surface._

"At least I didn't land on my keys." Yu groans as he stands back up on his own two feet.

 _Yu then chooses to examine his initial surroundings in this new world, and then he breathes a sigh of relief as he didn't need to bring his special shades due to a lack of fog to block his sight. That being said…. this new world still has interesting things of its own to fill one's eyes._

"Am I in a giant frying pan?" Yu thought as he looked to his left and found a gigantic version of the aforementioned section of the aforementioned cooking implement.

 _Then Yu looked to the sky and found its sun…..ny side-up egg…. as in… this world's sun was a sunny side-up egg, and the clouds were made either from egg whites or a white cotton candy. At the very least the frying pan itself is dug into what is hopefully just an ordinary grassy green field._

"I didn't hit my head on the oven and pass out from the paid did I?" Yu says out loud as he contemplates the possibility that he's dreaming right now.

 _Then Yu's eyes return to ground level only to notice a giant straw sticking out of the ground in the center of this giant frying pan like a flagpole, however it is who is unconscious and tied to the giant piece of plastic that gets the hero's attention the most._

"Teddie!" Yu screamed at the top of his lungs as he ran as hard as he could, "Hang on man…. I'll be here in a second!"

 _Yu runs across this pan of steel as fast as his human legs would take him, and if he were in the right frame of mind Yu would probably have his persona Izanagi carry him. Sadly the hero isn't in the right state of mind and the moment, and just as Yu was about to reach the two meter mark he collides smack dab into an invisible wall._

"Arghh…. son of a…." Yu groans as this invisible wall knocks him back like a loaded spring.

"Oh sorry Narukami. I wanted to warn you about that the moment you came in, but all of my attention has been focused on finishing up this place. Didn't notice you until now." the unnamed god explained in a surprisingly authentic guilty tone of voice.

 _Once again Yu's eyes were drawn towards the sky, and then they were almost completely blinded by the egg-shaped sun. The reason that Yu wasn't completely blinded was due to the fact that a humanoid shape was both blocking the sun's rays from high up while steadily descending towards the ground._

"Rejoice my flock…. For I have returned to guide thy humans to the land of milk and honey!" the unnamed deity said as he landed on the metal floor.

"You're not Moses guiding the slaves out of Egypt." Yu retorts as he believes an expression of annoyance appeared on his face, however there was no such expression.

"Ha ha….. don't be such a buzzkill Narukami….. it might have been from a different religion, but I've always wanted to do that just once." The unnamed god explained as he finally noticed the sun's rays upon him, "Ah…. that is getting in the way of you seeing me in this form isn't it?"

 _The unnamed god snapped his fingers, and in turn the sky of this seemingly literal food world became filled with clouds that reduced the burden on Yu's eyes._

"There…. is that better?" the unnamed god curiously asks.

 _Now that Yu could properly see, it was easy to realize that this mysterious god chose a form more descriptive than a silhouette in a mass of fog. This deity was defiantly male as expected, had light skin, he was as tall as Yu, he had black hair in the same style as Yu, however his face was hidden by a Japanese style dragon mask._

"Izanagi!" Yu screamed.

 _Truthfully Yu had no idea whether or not he'd be able to summon his trusted Persona in this strange space, but thankfully the blue tarot card of the fool arcana appeared in his hand once more. Right now he was acting out of anger towards the one who would dare harm Teddie._

"Rambunctious youth….. what can you do?" the unnamed god sighed as he clearly didn't consider Yu's persona a threat.

 _The blade of Izanagi's combat knife of a spear is approaching this unnamed god at lighting speed, but he stops the blade both with his eyes closed (or at least that's what it feels like to Yu) and his lone right pinky finger."_

"I'm disappointed in you Narukami…. you should know that the full potential of a persona of the Fool Arcana can't be used unless its master is in a calm state of mind." The unnamed god pointed out as it starts to leak a small amount of killing intent like he did in Yu's dream.

"What…. it took him even less effort than last time to stop me!" Yu thought as he truly believed that defeating this mysterious entity would be easier in the conscious realm.

"Why so surprised?" the unnamed god asks, "I thought that I explained that I only blocked with my arm the last time because of a fluke."

"It's not over yet!" Yu thought as he drew his sword from its sheathe and charged at this unnamed deity.

 _Like his cooking, Yu's movements lack the refinement that come with formal training, however his movements were still very fast as they had to become in order for he and his friends to survive the TV world. Yu quickly reaches the left side of this deity and aimed his blade at his waist from the downwards up, but this god stops this attack with the sole of his shoe as easily as his pinky stopped Izanagi._

"Since I'm still busy I'm willing to let this go, but-" the god was saying.

 _Then with a single push, this unnamed deity knocked back Izanagi and Yu several feet. Yu was lucky to only land on his butt a few feet later, however he felt the pain Izanagi experiences as he rolled on the ground a few times before coming to a stop._

"Honestly…to the last person with the Fool Arcana and his group of friends…. the power and control you and your friends have over your Personas….. it's just dirt in comparison…. No it's less than dirt." The unnamed god said as the tone of disappointment in his voice became stronger with each word spoken.

"What the heck are you talking about?" Yu asks.

"Oh come on…. when you first went to that room…. Igor's choice of words should have made it clear…. you're not the first person with the Fool Arcana to visit that room, and as such you and your friends are not the first group of Persona users." The unnamed god explained.

 _The truth is that Yu and his friends realized that it was possible for other Persona users to be out there in the world when Naoto found that one document in her investigation, but to have this kind of a person actually confirm it made it hard to believe._

"The last guest of that place….. thanks to the sheer tempered power of his Fool Arcana as well as the courage to sacrifice himself, he was able to seal away the strongest incarnation of death. If I made the same sacrifice as him… I'd maybe be able to hold it back for a month or two at best." The unnamed god said as he clearly holds this unnamed guest in high regards.

"My friends and I risked our lives to save the world as well. Shouldn't that put us on the same level as that person?" Yu asked not that he was seeking recognition for his deeds of course, "Just who is this person anyway?"

"Well in another world at another time…. the masses consider him to be Naoto's older brother, but you seriously don't remember? You've met him before after all." The unnamed god said in a cunning tone.

"I'd think I'd remember meeting another persona user outside of Inaba…. If what you've been saying is true that is." Yu retorts as he shows he doesn't completely believe this mysterious deity's earlier revelation.

"Right… sorry… forgot for a moment that your memories were wiped after dealing with Cronos….. anyways.…. yeah…. defeating Izanami who only had the power to cover the world in fog one Inaba at a time is really equal to the strongest incarnation of death, of whom had the power to wipe humanity all at once." The unnamed god answered in a condescendingly sarcastic tone.

"We barely made it out alive…. And my friends all one at a time took a blow meant for me, so I won't let you look down on what we've done together." Yu declared as he was angered by this god thinking so little of what he and his friends have been through.

"Make no mistake… I have no desire to see humanity extinct, and as such Izanami had to be stopped….. but you say you barely survived fighting Izanami." The unnamed god was saying as he starts to give off a light chuckle, "That really isn't anything extraordinary especially since she wasn't a combat oriented god anyway."

"As a god of the Shinto Pantheon…. You would be in a better position to say that kind of information." Yu said as he decided to test the accuracy of the information he got from Kanji.

"Ah…. you figured that out sooner than I thought you would." The unnamed god retorts with an amused look, "But getting back to what I was talking about a moment ago….. Izanami isn't a god of war whereas the entity I'm referring to as well as myself is."

"Why are you doing all of this to me and Teddie?" Yu demands to know as he finally got to picking himself up off the ground.

"I thought I already said it earlier, but on the off chance I didn't….. this is my revenge… for Izanami in fact since you found out what pantheon of gods I belong to. She….. wasn't well…. and I was so close to curing her….. that's why she did the things you experienced in Inaba… the true Izanami would never have done such horrible actions…. In fact she would have fought to her dying breath to stop it." the unnamed god explained as an angry tone slipped through his lips.

"But... Izanami is still around….. she's now the Inaba Weathergirl." Yu retorts obviously referring to Marie.

"No! That offshoot is not Izanami!" the unnamed god screamed as he temporarily lost control over himself, "Sorry…. about that Narukami. Marie…. to me is a daughter of Izanami, and as such I will not involve her in this scheme of ours. Once you defeated Izanami, Marie took in her power as it had no-where to go…. and yes…. technically she gained the right to call herself Izanami, but she is not the one I knew."

"What are you talking about?" Yu asks as he realizes that understanding this god would be a much harder task than he realized.

"Don't take this the wrong way as I have no intention of doing anything to her, but what if your beloved Yukiko died tomorrow… then after some time had passed… you meant someone who looked exactly like her down to personality, appearance, and fashion sense. Would you consider that Yukiko never truly died in those circumstances?" the god asks.

 _Yu wanted to say something in response, but the god-tier stoic was rendered silent for once. If Yukiko were to truly go to the next world, and Yu were to meet someone exactly like her as this god described….. he might make a deep comparison on a instinctual level….. but ultimately she'd just be a look-a-like that isn't the woman he fell in love with._

"I'm…. sorry." Yu said in an apologetic tone despite what this unnamed god had done.

 _Yu Narukami is a brutally honest man and as such what he feels he's done something wrong he'll apologize for it. What he said to this nameless god was rather insensitive….. it's like buying a dog of the same species as one that's just died in order to replace it._

"At least you tried to be the bigger man." the god said as he seems to have calmed down.

"But…. if you wanted to take revenge against me…. why not just do something simple like kill me in my sleep? Why resort to all this theatrics?" Yu curiously asks.

"Ah…. that's because…." The unnamed god mumbled.

 _All of a sudden this unnamed god looked behind him towards where this giant frying pan's handle was._

"I'm sorry for what's about to happen Narukami, but as a combat oriented deity…. using my power to create a dimensional sub-pocket, fill it with a landscape, and keep the Shadows in their respective holding areas all at once isn't something I'm used to." the unnamed god said as if he was a little embarrassed.

"Wait… you created this place?" Yu asked out of surprise as he expected this realm to be a naturally existing place like the TV World.

"Yeah….., but we'll get to that after you deal with our unexpected interruption." The unnamed god said as he nods his head in the direction he just looked towards.

"What are you-" Yu was saying.

"Raghrhhhhhhrhhhghhhh!" a unknown monstrous creature roared.

 _That roar came from the direction of the giant handle, and as such Yu turned his head towards the same direction. It was there both Yu and the unnamed god saw a large husk in the distance jump into the sky only to disappear from sigh thanks to a burst of sunlight that broke through the clouds._

"Where did it go?" Yu thought as he urgently started to look in all directions.

"Let's see…. 3…. 2….. 1." The unnamed god calmly mumbled as he seemed to know where that husk was without even looking at it.

 _Once the unnamed god's countdown reached 0, something landed near the center of this giant frying pan with a tremendous amount of force. So much that a large dust cloud was kicked up as if a fully loaded truck was dropped from a cargo plane at 10,000 feet._

"What the….. where am I?" Teddie mumbled to himself as the preceding shockwave roused him from his unconscious state.

"Wow…. granted I didn't put much effort into it, but I don't recall bringing in a Shadow strong enough to break a barrier I created." The unnamed god thought as he was on the receiving end of an unexpected yet somewhat personally amusing surprise.

 _Once the dust cleared; Yu, the unnamed god, and the recently conscious Teddie all bore witness to an anthropomorphic cow wearing a dark grey cliché P.I trench coat, with its udders pointing straight forward like the barrel of a gun, with a pair of six-shooters in both hands, and a red mask covering its face._

"If I'm not mistaken Yu Narukami…. I believe that one is called Incandescent Bovine!" the unnamed god yelled, "Well now's a perfect time as any to see what you can do in your current state!"

"Sensei!" Teddie screamed as he ran over to where Yu was standing.

"Turn around!" Yu yelled as he realized that Teddie's hands were still bound behind his back.

 _With a swipe of his sword, Yu frees Teddie from his bonds and makes him drink one of the two Amirita Sodas he had left from the TV World. It's a rare item capable of instantly healing someone's injuries as well as restores them to fighting strength._

"Do you think you can fight?" Yu asks as he had the clarity of thought to bring a pair of Teddie's clawed gauntlets that got mixed in with his stuff by accident when he left Inaba.

"This is not how I imagined our reunion sensei, but yes…. I'll fight with you to the end." Teddie declared as he puts on these old weapons as if he was reuniting with an old friend after a long period of time.

"I was originally planning to save it until this arena of ours was complete, but very well….. I'll roll with the punches." The unnamed god thought as he took a deep breath, "This wasn't how I wanted it to go Yu Narukami, but let this battle be the first challenge in a Shokugeki Trials between a god and god-killer!"

 **To Be Continued**

Yu: Why did that item drop? I mean it's not even a Deer.

?: The challenge is rather fair…. as I value fair play after all… oh by the way you'll find a unexpected surprise when you get back.

Teacher: Alright everyone, break off and find a partner!

?: By the way Narukami, soon enough you'll have another stalker to worry about asides from me.

Yu: Next time on Shokugeki no Megami Tensei "A First Year's Shadow"

Teddie: What the….. why can't I leave Tokyo?! Noooooooo! I don't wanna miss Mama Hanamura's gyoza day again!


	6. A First Year's Shadow

**Shokugeki no Megami Tensei**

 **Chapter 6**

 **A First Year's Shadow**

* * *

 _It's best to keep things simple after what seems like a yearlong break, but Yu dived right into the tentatively named "Oven World" for the sake of rescuing one of his bear-y best friends Teddie. Get it? Jokes asides though, Yu is able to succeed in the first part of his task and was even able to give Teddie a weapon; however, they were stopped from leaving when (what this masked deity blamed on momentary ineptitude) a gun toting shadow in the form of a cow landed in the middle of this frying pan shaped arena._

"Let this battle be the first challenge in a shokugeki trial between a god and a god-killer!" the masked deity yelled as he started to hover in the air in a sitting position as if intending to enjoy the show.

"What the heck are you talking about?!" Yu yelled.

"I'll explain after the fight." the masked god retorts, "That is…. if you survive it of course."

 _Teddie and Yu are able to quickly take a defensive stance thanks to their year of battle, but the Shadow doesn't attack them….. rather it continues to stand in place as if waiting for them to make the first move. That's strange as these two have never seen a normal shadow behave like that during their adventures in the TV World._

"Why isn't it attacking senpai?" Teddie asks.

"Isn't it obvious?" the masked god laughed, "This shadow only got this far because my attention momentarily slipped, but now…. well a boss fight can't start until the player walks into his room and goes through the cut scenes.

 _In other words the shadow wasn't attacking because this time around the masked god was paying attention to his surroundings this time, of which is made easier by his primary target being in the same room._

"Is this some kind of game to you?!" Yu yelled out of anger.

"Hmm… a little, but first…. since you actually haven't fought anything in a while." the masked god laughed as he snapped his fingers.

 _This action of the masked deity forced three sets of glowing letters to appear before Yu. The first set read "Would you like to go through Shokugeki no Megami Tensei's combat tutorial?", the second set was only a simple "Yes" with an arrow pointing to it, and the last set of letters was just a straight up "No"._

"You are treating this like a game!" Yu yelled.

"I just said I was. Why are you getting so mad?!" the masked god retorts as he bursts out into laughter, "I was just trying to be a gracious host by offering to make the fight easier, but you don't have to go through with it if you think you can handle the hire difficulty. Just touch the word that corresponds with your intent."

"Of course I'm not going to fall for any more of your tricks." Yu thought as his hand reached towards the glowing no before suddenly stopping, "Wait…. jokes aside…. if I think about it this guy has followed up about his claims of believing in fair play, and Teddie might be fine physically now but who knows how he is mentally."

 _At first this seemed like it would be an easy decision for Yu, but in a moment of unease he seems to pause for several minutes before the metaphorical message from the game. Eventually enough time passes where even this masked god starts to get a little impatient._

"Well what's it going to be?" the masked god boasted, "Certainly that fancy drink might have healed any injuries Teddie might have had and restored his physical energy, but what about his mental strength? Can he say with certainty that it isn't drained because of recent events?"

 _If Teddie understood the line of questioning this masked deity was going for he didn't show it, but Yu understood right away. To control a persona one must have a strong mind and a strong will to use its full potential. Controlling a persona with a tired mind is like swinging a sword still in its scabbard…. its blows might possess strength, but ultimately nowhere near what it could be. One's persona will revert back to a shadow if they lose the will that allowed them to conquer it in the first place, and your fate will be sealed under those circumstances unless your comrades are nearby._

"I know my friends would hop on a train right now to come help me if they could, but this guy's grudge is against me and me alone." Yu thought, "If there's a chance I can keep them out of it….. should I take it?"

 _Yu then takes a quick glance at Teddie as he continues to ponder that issue and he saw that the body of the bear-turned-human looked 100%, but the expression on his face clearly shows that he'd like nothing more than to take a nap._

"Don't worry senpai, no matter what you do I'll be right by your side!" Teddie declared as he forced a smile on his face thinking Yu had only just turned to face him.

"Arghhh damn it!" Yu thought as he has finally made a decision.

 _Yu thrusts his hand through the glowing "No" with gusto, and as a result the original two options as well as the question being asked disappeared into particles of light like pixie dust._

"Arghhh seriously?! Maaan that's sucks." The masked god moaned in a tone that was a combination of shock and childlike disappointment.

"You really expected me/senpai to say yes!" Teddie and Yu screamed simultaneously.

"You humans are usually pretty predictable." The masked god retorts as his state of annoyance steadily decreased, "Then again someone who could kill Izanami, Kugutsuchi, and Chronos as well as convince that psycho bitch Mikuratana to back off can't possibly an ordinary human."

"How do you…. wait….. you mentioned Chronos before, but my friends and I never fought anyone by that name!" Yu asked as he's once more surprised by this metaphorical god's reach.

"As Japan is my dominion, nothing majorly supernatural goes on within its borders without me knowing." The masked god explained in a serious if not somewhat murderous tone, "Your memories regarding the incident with Chronos were erased. Before you ask I was not an accomplice of any of those incidents…. rather I just cleaned up the super natural side of the mess they made... if only I could deal with the other thing that's going on as easily too."

"Other one?" Yu asks.

"It's nothing you need to know about save for the fact another possessor of the Fool Arcana is dealing with it. Not as much potential as the Fool that came before you, but definitely more than you." the masked god sighed, "But… we've strayed too far off topic. Time to commence with the tutorial."

 _The masked god follows up his statement by casually waving his hand towards Yu, Teddie, and the cow shaped shadow._

"Get down!" Yu screamed as his instincts told him that something bad was about to happen.

 _Yu and Teddie placed their hands on their heads the moment they hit the floor, and it was perfect timing as they could feel a powerful gust of wind fly past them, of which the gust was so powerful that this pair of friends ended up rolling around on the metallic floor for a bit._

"Arghshfgwegh!" the cow shaped shadow inaudibly screamed.

 _Yu and Teddie looked up only to see the cow shaped shadow as well as a section of this giant frying pan be bisected completely in two._

"Congratulations: You two have now completed Shokugeki no Megami Tensei's combat tutorial." The masked god said in a happy-go-lucky manner.

 _This pair of friends truly expected the masked god to go through a series of typical rpg clichés such as the command menu, hp/sp gauge, whether or not it's a turn based battle system. With this being the unexpected result, couldn't blade Teddie or Yu for being surprised._

"I never had the slightest intention to teach you how to fight in this new world. You two are decent enough already and you'll pick up anything else you might need in the trials to come." The masked god explained, "The tutorial request was simply a test of character, and you….. passed."

"Huh? But I thought you intended to kill me?" Yu retorts.

"I do, but I also said that I believe in fair play. The purpose of the trials I mentioned is to teach you the skills you need to be a worthy opponent to me." the masked god said, "As for what I mean by test of character….. it's one of the two reasons I "convinced" Teddie to join us here."

"You mean kidnap Teddie from his home?" Yu countered, "If you wanted to test my character then fine, but you didn't need to get my friends involved!"

"Ah but I did…. otherwise you wouldn't have been as motivated to rescue some random person off the street." The god retorts as he hides a smirk behind his mask, "The first reason is that I wanted to see with my own eyes if you were a human who valued their bonds. You were able to overcome your desire for revenge for the sake of Nanako's supposed death, you convinced your friends to do the same for the sake of justice, and now you did it again for sake of Teddie. It won't mean much coming from a villain like me, but…. well done child of man."

"What about these shokugeki trials you want to make senpai go through?" Teddie asks.

"Ah yes…. first of all a shokugeki is what Tōtsuki students and staff call their cooking duels, of which is used to settle their respective differences. I'll leave one of the humans at that school to explain the rules, but over the course of your senpai's final year of high school I intend to make him have a shokugeki with opponents I select." The masked god explained, "He'll know if I'm the one sending him a challenger, and of course it won't be an ordinary shokugeki….. but the differences are something you'll have to discover for yourself once the first round of trials begins."

 _The masked god then snapped his fingers causing two different things to occur in this strange dimensional sub-pocket. The first thing is that a bottle of freshly squeezed juice from a pineapple and a package of deer meet both aptly labled "Kami-sama Farms" appeared in Teddie and Yu's hands respectively out of thin air. The second thing was that a series of small ovens stacked on top of each other purposely like the exit from the TV world appeared behind Yu and Teddie._

"Now then it's time for you two to leave while I repair the damage. Oh and just to make sure you stay motivated….. until you complete all the trials or fail even one of them…... Teddie, with the exception for when the events atTōtsuki require otherwise will not be able to go past the city limits. You're free to confirm it for yourselves if you don't believe me, but be sure to have some bandages ready." The masked god revealed, "Oh and those two items I gave you….. you'll need them for your first day of school Narukami bros."

"What?!" Teddie and Yu yelled.

"Ta ta." the masked god said as he casually waved his hand up and down.

 _Teddie and Yu could then almost immediately feel a powerful suction force come from the series of ovens stacked behind them. Everyone's favorite Junes mascon was quickly sucked through; however Yu was able to grab the handle of one of the ovens as his lower half crossed over to the other side._

"Just who are you?!" Yu screamed as his grip steadily started to slip.

"Ah yes… just to make it easier on the author as he writes…. you can call me Janus after the god king of sacred rights." Janus said after quickly contemplating that issue, "It's not my real name obviously, and I can permission from the real one quickly enough… but I'd say it fits with the situation."

 _After hearing that piece of knowledge Yu is finally sucked all the way through the portal, and on the other side he of course finds himself back in his new home along with Teddie with their backs against the wall along with their gifts from Janus in their arms._

"Do you think that guy… I mean Janus was serious senpai about saying I was trapped within the city?" Teddie asked as the adrenaline induced by this situation starts to pass from him and Yu.

"We'll have to confirm it tomorrow for ourselves, but yes….. I believe he was." Yu said.

"Oh no senpai….. I don't want to be like all those bears in cages at zoos. This Teddie has to be free as a bird." Teddie declared as he somehow found the strength to make a joke under these circumstances.

"Ha… very funny." Yu said with one of his famous god-tier straight-faced expressions actually written upon his face.

"Then you should actually laugh senpai." Teddie retorts, "You could do with laughing more like Yukiko-senpai."

"Make no mistake Teddie…. I love the girl, but I don't want her sense of humor." Yu said, "Still… I know it's too soon to ask, but do you remember anything that happened between the moment you were taken and now?"

"Not much…. I remember finding an oven in the middle of the street, and I remember regaining consciousness once in that world before you rescued me. Wait…." Teddie explained before having what appeared to be a sudden epiphany, "I remember… that Janus guy made me take that Tōtsuki school's first year transfer exam."

"Did you pass?" Yu asks.

"Yeah…. I really impressed the proctor and her assistant too. In fact…. if I close my eyes and think about it…. I can see a bunch of different recipes and stuff." Teddie said with a smile, "I guess this Janus guy wanted to give me a reason to stick around you senpai, and a way to stay around you as well."

"Makes sense…. I heard how close to a thousand people are expelled every year at Tōtsuki." Yu said as he suddenly finds himself lost in thought, "I guess that explains why I saw Teddie at Tōtsuki, but was his exam before or after mind I wonder?"

"Yawwwn…. this bear really wants to go and hibernate now senpai. Is it alight if I just crash on the couch?" Teddie asks.

"You're my friend…. you don't need to ask. Let me just find which box the spare blankets are in." Yu said as he got back up on his feet only to be shocked by a brand new site, "What the.."

 _Before Yu entered this newly created Oven World, his living room along with the rest of the house should have been filled with cardboard boxes. Now however, the living room likely along with the rest of the house has been fully furnished and all of the cardboard boxes have disappeared. Heck….. as if to suit the situation, the couch that was originally in the living room was replaced with a pull-out couch with the bed having already been pulled out._

"What is going on here?" Yu mumbled aloud.

"Um… senpai….. maybe this will explain things." Teddie suggested as he passed Yu a pair of items.

 _The first item was a Narukami family photo from just before Yu moved to Inaba, however for some strange reason Teddie was in the photo as if he was part of the family. The second item was a signed note from none other than Janus himself._

"Dear Yu, if you're reading this you've returned home safely along with Teddie only to find your house fully furnished. Consider me unpacking everything as a way of making up for the inconveniences I've caused you. If you haven't looked at the picture frame please do so now, and if you've already looked at it… say hello to your new adopted brother Teddie Narukami. Since he's stuck there until you complete my trials I've asked a friend to alter the memories of everyone you two know and vice versa save for your friends to think of Teddie as your younger brother who was adopted 2 years after you were born. Sincerely, Janus. P.S: In case your bear hasn't already mentioned it, I forced some knowledge of cooking into his mind as well as made him take the first year transfer exam to make it easier for you two to hang out. P.S.S: Don't worry about telling your friends about this… I already did it for you. P.S.S.S: In case I didn't mention it while you two were still here, don't forget to bring the gifts I gave you on your first day of school." Yu said as he read the contents of Janus's note aloud word for word.

 _In this moment it took all of the willpower Yu had honed over a year of battle in the TV world not to turn on his stove in order to burn this note (of which most of his friends would have likely have done), but he decided against it on what he knows to be the likely futile hope that Naoto can get something of use off of it._

"We'll be fine senpai, and besides if I had to have an older brother I'm glad it is someone like you." Teddie said as he seems to be taking this unexpected news rather well.

* * *

 _After answering a flood of messages from his friends as well as turning in for the night, Yu Narukami certainly has a lot to think about with this new adventure and adversary in the form of a deity that insists on going by an alias; however, he must put it into the back of his mind as a week passes and he and his "brother's" first day of school at the perilous_ _Tōtsuki Culinary Academy is about to begin. Yu spent his time within that week memorizing as much of the required reading material for 3_ _rd_ _years as possible, of which in particular he focused specifically on cooking science and cooking techniques from knife handling to frying rather than any actual recipes. Teddie spent that span of time by… well by just being Teddie._

"Come on Teddie, it's just a little bit farther." Yu declared with a straight face as he continued to jog in place.

 _Unfortunately their first day of school wouldn't be off to a perfect start due to the fact both the Sister Complex Kingpin of Steel and "On The Mark" Teddieson had overslept due to the abruptness of their situation. They had no choice but to run the several miles to_ _Tōtsuki's front gate unless they wished to be late on their first day, of which they happen both be only a few meters away from reaching._

"Ahhh arghhh… go on without me senpai! Don't worry; I'll hold off the army rainy day beef bowls!" Teddie yelled as he was drenched in sweat and likely delusional from dehydration.

Don't worry Teddie…. Just a little farther and there will be plenty of a whole new genre of babes for you to try and score with." Yu said stoic deadpan tone that somehow sounds motivating.

 _As Yu said that, he couldn't help imagine most of his friends telling him not to encourage Teddie while Yukiko says "Awww he's just being supportive" before suddenly somehow bursting into laughter over what she just said. Teddie himself however, instantly recovered to full strength upon hearing his most respected senpai's words of encouragement. In fact all of Teddie's sweat disappeared and his uniform smelled as though it was just washed. Speaking of uniforms: Teddie worse his new uniform like a good student save for the addition of the rose from his casual outfit back from Inaba on his left side while Yu wore his exactly the same way he did back there as well._

"You're absolutely right senpai! I can't give up here especially since there are so many beauties I can teach the joy that is Teddie!" Teddie haughtily laughed, "Still though senpai, it is amazing how could sprint the last three miles here without even breaking a sweat."

"It's not that big of a deal. Compared to our year of fighting for our lives, this much is nothing at all." Yu retorts.

 _Thanks to the power of Persona enhancing the physique of Yu and his friends while they were in the TV world…. a light jog really isn't anything. I mean Chie could punt Shadows as though Team Rocket was blasting off again, Naoto could move fast enough to dodge bullets, and Kanji could take several bolts of lightning without so much as a scar._

"Yeah….. I guess that's true." Teddie declared seemingly without a care in the world, "Oh and don't worry I remembered bring the pineapple juice like that weird god said too."

"I remembered to bring what he told me to bring as well." Yu said.

"Why do you think he asked us to bring that stuff?" Teddie asked, "And it should be fine if we walk the rest of the way senpai."

"He said we'd understand our first day of school, so we'll just have to wait it out." Yu answered as he and Teddie finally walked through the front gate.

 _Teddie and Yu saw two things the moment they walked through_ _Tōtsuki's front gate. The first thing to the left off into the distance was a sort of tent setup that wouldn't be out of place for a war camp in ancient japan, and they could hear what sounded like an older gentleman giving a speech though they obviously couldn't hear specifics due to the distance._

"There he is!" a random reporter yelled as he pointed his finger at Yu, "Excuse me Narukami-san, can I ask you a few questions?"

 _The second thing was that a reporter and a small horde's worth of his colleagues surrounded Yu and Teddie before they could take more than a few steps onto the_ _Tōtsuki campus and barraged them with a mountain of questions. Though his god-tier stoic nature wouldn't allow him to show it, Yu couldn't help but feel nervous due to the experiences of his friends when it came to being surrounded by the media especially Nanako in particular. Still…. he has to say something underneath these circumstances._

"Wow senpai, I never knew you became famous since I last saw you." Teddie said with a star struck expression in his eyes, "Maybe if some of your glory rubs off of me I'll be able to score even more with the ladies."

"Excuse me, but what's going on here?" Yu asked as he had an ever rare confused look on his face whilst inwardly being relieved that none of the reporters had paid attention to Teddie's earlier statement.

 _Then all of the reporters momentarily went silent as if Yu was a prophet delivering the lord's message though it was really because they didn't expect him to seem so confused, but quickly enough one of the other reporters quickly worked up the courage to speak._

"Mr. Narukami-san, the Tōtsuki brand has such influence on the cooking that it wouldn't be wrong to say it has the gourmet equivalent of the American Military's influence on the world." a female reporter explained, "As such any firsts for Tōtsuki in particular you being the first 3rd year transfer applicant in the school's entire history to pass would be more than enough cause for journalists from dozens if not hundreds of culinary news organizations to come racing to Japan."

 _Yu continued to maintain his straight-man expression, but he was surprised if not shocked on the inside to hear this reporter's explanation. He knew Tōtsuki had a large influence in the cooking industry; however he didn't think it would be so large to warrant this kind of reaction from thepress. Yu then also realized he had no choice but to answer these reporters' questions now otherwise any negative reputation he gives the school will end up destroying his career chances as a chef. Teddie however… was continuing to enjoy his senpai's glory._

"Is it true that you're cooking is completely self-taught?" one reporter asked.

"Other than two years of required home-economic classes between junior and high school I've never had any formal training or education, and even then those home-economic classes only covered cooking for a third of the schoolyear at best." Yu honestly answered.

"Word has spread that you passed the transfer exam by making seafood lasagna. Does that mean you specialize in Italian cuisine?" another female reporter asked.

"That's just what I happened to have decided to make. Like I said earlier my cooking is completely self-taught, but despite that I don't know enough about cooking to specialize in anything." Yu said, "But then again that is why I'm here… to learn what it is I lack about this profession."

"Mr. Narukami-san just one more question." said yet another random reporter, "According to your own admission as well as my own research, you've never had any formal training, education or experience in the cooking industry. Given the strict requirements to take the 1st year transfer exam let alone the 3rd, how exactly were you allowed to take the test?"

"According to what I've been told, I've been recommended by the directory of Tōtsuki himselfSenzaemon Nakiri." Yu answered as he thought it best to keep his encounter with the musclebound grandpa to himself, "And in regards to experience…. though it probably doesn't count by gourmet standards…. I worked at a Junes food court."

 _That kind of experience obviously didn't count in the eyes' of these members of the press, but they still noted it down anyway. The reporters continued to ask question after question not all of which were cooking related, and soon enough due to being in close proximity; the reporters started to hound Teddie with questions._

"Pardon me, but what is your relationship with Yu Narukami?" the reporter who first noticed Yu and Teddie earlier asked.

"He's my older brother, my name is Teddie Narukami." Teddie shrugged.

 _That answer drew the attention of even more reporters to Teddie, of whom did the bare minimal (no pun intended) to answer their questions only follow by upselling his own boyish good looks or Yu's abilities. Eventually however, the horde of reporters surrounding these two grew to the point where it was hard for students, staff, or other important guests to squeeze through the entrance. It was only a matter of time until the school's administration sends someone to deal with this mess if they haven't already._

"Just one mo-" yet another reporter tried to say.

"What is going on here?!" a young woman yelled with a domineering yet regal tone of voice.

"Make your way, Erina-sama is coming through here!" another young woman yelled.

 _The reporters split apart like the red sea as they had expressions of fear on their faces upon hearing these two women speak. Yu took this to mean that these pair of women were quite reputable on school grounds thanks to the lessons in deductive reasoning he got from working with Naoto. At any rate once the reporters split apart Yu finally got a look at these two. One had blonde hair that reached her lower back, purple-pinkish eyes, and an attitude of a princess…. No that of a queen groomed for success. The other had dark pink hair hat reached down to her chin, red-brownish eyes, and she stood behind the girl with the attitude of a "Queen" as if to indicate she holds a submissive subordinate position below her._

"Oh… it's those two." Teddie said in a tone that clearly indicates he's seen these two before.

"You know these two Teddie?" Yu asked as he picked up on the aforementioned tone.

"I thought I mentioned it after you rescued me senpai, but just in case….. like I said a week ago although I couldn't remember everything that god made me do, but one of the things I do remember was taking the transfer exam like you. That blonde girl was my proctor, and her name is Erina Nakiri who is the 10th seat of the Elite 10. She'll also be a first year like me" Teddie explained in what can be considered a rare normal tone of voice for him.

"Nakiri… could she be related to that old man? A grandchild maybe?" Yu thought.

 _Yu actually did some further research on the Elite 10 after his exam given the identity of his three proctors. He already knew that each member of the Elite 10 were formidable, but he was surprised to discover that most incarnations of the illustrious group were capable of fighting evenly if not outright surpassing some world-class chefs. It was for that reason Yu was shocked to learn that a first year was capable enough to join their ranks….. not that he showed it on his face of course._

"The other girl is her secretary, but I never caught her name." Teddie explained as he took a deep breathe, "That god even made me flirt with her just so I wouldn't look out of character with everyone else."

"More like your true nature momentarily broke free of his mind control." Yu couldn't help but think.

 _Erina waited to make certain that all of the reporters were no longer blocking the flow of traffic and were silent before deciding to say anything, and now that this has been accomplished….._

"You esteemed members of the press should be ashamed of yourself. Tōtsuki Culinary Academy is a place where the elite of the cooking world come to polish their skills, and to deny students as well as staff access to these grounds is to stomp on the school's very name." Erina declared as she continued to emit an angered imperialistic aura, "I ask that you please vacate the premises before the administration is forced to lodge a complaint with your respective firms."

 _At that moment all of the reporters started to fearfully run for their lives as if Erina had pulled out a gun and started shooting. Some of the reporters even yelled that they were sure to be fired or to be the doom of their firm whether a complaint was filed or not, but regardless within a span of two minutes the academy's main entrance was empty save for Yu, Teddie, Erina, and the pink haired girl where the former pair quickly walked up to the latter._

"And you…. even if you happen to be skipping a couple of grades Tōtsuki has its reputation to think about, so if you are going to answer questions at least do it where it won't get in anyone's way." Erina said with a haughty tone as she was clearly admonishing Yu.

 _Erina took a deep breath after saying her piece to both the reporters and Yu, of which seems to allow the youngest member of the Elite 10 to quickly calm down._

"You would have been hounded by reporters regardless of which entrance you came in, so I suppose I shouldn't hold it against you too much." Erina sighed.

"Thank you for your helping-" Yu was saying as he stretched out his hand with the intent of a handshake.

"Who do you think you are?!" the pink haired maiden yelled as she stood in front of Erina and slapped Yu's hand out of the way, "Simply passing the 3rd year transfer exam does not give you the qualifications to talk to Erina-sama."

"What are you doing Hisako?" Erina asked of her assistant as even she didn't expect this behavior, "Narukami-senpai, has both the approval of my grandfather as well as my seniors on the Elite 10. He at least has the qualification to shake my hand."

 _Though Erina like many others who heard about Yu's actions couldn't help but wonder how someone with no training could actually impress her grandfather and three members of the Elite 10. It was for that reason that Erina wasn't as respectful towards Yu compared to say any of the academy's other third years._

"My apologies for embarrassing you like this Erina-sama." Hisako declared as she quickly bowed to her queen before standing back upright.

"Ah same as yesterday." Teddie couldn't help but say out loud.

"Who said tha….. you?!" Hisako exclaimed as she and Erina finally noticed Teddie's presence.

"Ah Teddie-san, the cilbir you made during your transfer examination was most impressive but shouldn't someone with your ability already be in class?" Erina asked as she spoke to Teddie in a far more respectful tone.

 _For those of you less familiar with the cooking world, cilbir is a Turkish dish that consists of a poached egg, yogurt, often but not always garlic, and various other seasoning._

"My brother and I were caught in that mess earlier." Teddie explained.

"Narukami-senpai is your brother?" Erina asks with a rare surprised expression.

"Wouldn't have it said so on his application?" Yu couldn't help but ask.

"It did say he had a brother, but I never realized it was you Narukami-senpai as for some reason it wasn't listed." Erina explained.

"I see…. well once again thank you for helping us earlier." Yu said in a noticeably rare grateful tone.

"Since it seems like you already know who I am I'll skip introductions." Erina said, "My grandfather requested that I show you around until you get familiar with the campus."

"I'm just an ordinary transfer student that can be found anywhere. I don't warrant such attention." Yu pointed out due to his experience transferring schools over a dozen times.

"An ordinary transfer student certainly wouldn't warrant such attention, however you are the first person to pass the 3rd year transfer exam in the school's history and any true first for Tōtsuki would easily grab the world's attention." Erina pointed out, "A member of the Elite 10 would have to be the one to show around the academy even if it didn't end up being me."

"I see…. then once again thank you." Yu said honestly just before taking note of the time, "But perhaps we should get going before we all end up being late on our first day of school."

 _On that note this unusual quartet starts walking, but before Teddie could take his first step Hisako stops him by outstretching her hand as if it were a stop sign._

"I will tolerate your presence around Erina-sama since you are the younger brother of Narukami-senpai, however if you try flirting with Erina-sama again I'll be sure to punish you in a shokugeki." Hisako declared, "It won't be the first time I've set a restraining order as a condition in a shokugeki!"

 _All of a sudden Teddie moves closer to Hisako and only stops when it reaches the point where their foreheads were about to touch. Then Teddie pulls the rose pin off of his uniform and holds in his hand._

"Now now Hisako-chan, you should relax otherwise your pretty pink hair will turn gray before you reach the prime of your youth." Teddie declared in the most romantically flirty tone he was capable of.

"This reminds me of when Teddie tried hitting on that married sample lady back in Inaba." Yu couldn't help but think, "Still…. his game has improved since I last saw….. what the hell am I thinking?"

"Hang on… this will make sure your looks last a little longer." Teddie whispered into Hisako's ear as he put his rose pin into her hair, "Come on senpai, we really should get going like you said!"

 _Hisako was so shocked by Teddie's actions that her mind momentarily froze, and it took Erina/Teddie/Yu walking a few feet away to snap her attention back to reality. Hisako then turned her gaze back on Teddie and was about to say something, but suddenly she felt her cheeks fill with overwhelming warmth such that she had to look away before her face burned._

"Hmph… such idiotic lines will not work on me!" Hisako declared as she just could not make herself look Teddie in the eye.

"But they clearly are." both Yu and Erina coincidentally thought.

 _The former could say Teddie's lines were having an effect due to actually having a girlfriend while the latter could say such due to the immense amount of shoujo manga she's read, but she would of course never publically admit that. Since Erina was already apparently made aware of Yu's class schedule and time was running short, she only made brief depictions of any noticeable sights. As for Teddie, his class was on another part of the campus so he had no choice but to separate. In one part Erina's request and another so no other maiden becomes a victim of Teddie's tendencies, Hisako reluctantly goes along with everyone's (ha) bear-y favorite flirt to make sure he goes straight to class._

"All of the instructors in this building specialize in wild game." Erina continued to explain, "We have instructors that teach generalized classes and ones that focus only on a particular species of wild game."

"I see. Hmm…. well this is my stop." Yu said as he stops in front of a classroom door right at the corner of the hallway.

"You're brother spoke well of you during his exam, so I hope I get try some of your own cooking soon." Erina said as she was curious about the skills of the man before her whilst offering a handshake.

"Likewise." Yu said as he returned that offer whilst thinking, "I have to learn about everything I lack as a chef not for just the sake of being worthy of working in the same kitchen as Yukiko, but also for Teddie's freedom."

 _At this moment Yu Narukami was so focused on his own thoughts that he failed to notice the looks of jealousy and death glares coming from other students for touching their "beloved Erina-sama."_

"She reminds me of the stories I heard about Mitsuru when it comes to how much she cares about the school, but I can tell Erina is being pressured to act this way like how Ayane used to submit to peer pressure when we first met….. then there's the way she looks at other people…. that sense of pride is exactly like Ai's." Yu thought as he continued to shake Erina's hand, "Enough comparing though….. I look forward to getting to know the real Erina Nakiri like all the other new friends I'll make."

 _Even after Yu and Erina went their separate people were still jealous of what they perceived to be Yu's good fortune even after he and Erina went their separate ways, of which one girl in particular took it far worse to the point of emitting pure hatred towards Yu. She was a maiden with a corrupted sense of love watching the whole thing go down through a pair of binoculars in a tree about 50 meters away._

"No no no! I can already barely tolerate that bitch Hiako Arato! My precious Erina-sama cannot be allowed to get close to a man!" the corrupted maiden whispered, "Yu Narukami….. so what if you passed the 3rd year transfer exam, I will ELIMITATE YOU!"

 _Little did the maiden with a corrupt heart know….. she the watcher was also being watched._

"Ohh…. I like this girl's attitude." Janus mumbled to himself as he watched this corrupted maiden through a magic portal, "It seems I already found someone worthy enough of being the opponent in the first round."

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

Janus: Straight forward this time, but….

Yu: Next time on Shokugeki no Megami Tensei "Shadow of the First Day".


End file.
